Can You See Me Now?
by Firefly Kisses
Summary: AU- LoganxOC- Wolverines weekend of much needed solitude is put to a quick end when an urgent phone call from Xavier tells him that a mutant girl has been abducted by the wicked geneticist, Sinister! What is so special about this unremarkable mutant that Essex singles her out of thousands to perform his next depraved experiment? Rated M for very adult themes!
1. Barely There

**This story is rated M for a reason. There will be situations involving but not limited to sexual situations, rape, language, violence, and gore. Please proceed knowing that you have been warned appropriately. I only own Olivia, and claim no rights to the established characters of the x-men series.**

**I enjoy lots of pairings and romance stories, but I created this character in particular as a tool to help me explore the journey that one goes through when one is abused. I've had her and written with her for a long time, and decided it was time to make a proper story with her. I hope you enjoy my meager contributions to the x-men writing community 3**

The primal roar of Logans' Harley deafened all other sounds on the road. He had meant to get away from the school and take a road trip up into Canada via some back roads he had always loved to travel. Just because he had taken on a job at Xaviers school didn't mean that the lone wanderer within him had died. The weekends were his own and jealously guarded, and once all classes were out on friday afternoon, his bike got gassed up and he was gone, given in to his wanderlust. Always however, he was back before classes on Monday morning.

Maybe he had mellowed out some as he'd gotten older, a thought that gave him no pleasure. The Wolverine was not a home body. Life before the school used to be lived on the road. He'd have all he owned bungee corded to the bitch seat of his ride in a duffle bag, feeling that the more road he put behind him, the closer his lost memories might become. Time had proven that notion to be flawed but by then it had become too entrenched. As the years passed by and he was no closer to finding what was missing, life seemed all the more monotonous and aggravating. He began doing what he did best.

Being an animal.

He had cared only about fulfilling his instinctive needs. Food, some hard drink, the pleasure of the occasional woman, but the most difficult desire to fill was his lust for violence. Cage matches, even when he let his opponent take a few decent shots at him never satisfied him, though the money was good. Pain, feeling his skin split and pummeled, even if seconds later it would just mend itself, was a welcome sensation. It made him feel alive! It was the closest he could get to what he wanted. And what he wanted, was a challenge.

The challenge eventually came, but not in the way he would have dreamed. Those kids. Xaviers kids. Each one of them in a world that hated them and struggling through the most pivotal years of their lives. Some were without homes, families, support, saved through the generous charity of the most empathetic man he'd ever known. Xavier did care for all of humanity, but particularly for mutant kind. When Xavier brought him face to face with this disturbing product of mutant prejudice, the lost ones of their kind, that long ignored softness in Logan's iron hard heart was appealed to. He had never really been a fan of being around kids on a regular basis, but they were a weakness of his. He could relate to them. Their uncertainty and confusion, their need for direction so closely mirroring his own search for his past.

He didn't remain there, not right away, but he kept finding himself coming back, in part thanks to an alluring redhead that had been among those early students. She was an adult now, and had married that blasted Scott Summers and both had stayed on as staff members to pass on the kindness they had received and to make a difference in the world as X-men. What eventually made him stay was seeing that his time spent with those kids, teaching them how to fight and become strong, had made a real difference in their lives. They could go out into the world knowing how to defend themselves. It was odd to discover that he felt a deep sense of pride over it, and somehow, those kids who had done all they could to avoid his lessons and groaned over their field training, had come to love him.

After the first batch of kids graduated, he decided to stay on and continue teaching them. He was a hard instructor, gruff and overbearing, but the results couldn't be argued. Those kids were no longer children, but strong, capable adults. Thanks greatly to his efforts.

He wasn't quite sure how things had changed over the years, but Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters was home now.

But he was still the Wolverine, and the Wolverine needed the freedom to be who he was. He wanted to hit the bars, play some pool, breathe some fresh mountain air and maybe have a steamy tryst with some random redhead. He also had a pocket full of cigars he intended to make use of, still grumpy by Charles no smoking in the mansion rule.

At least that was what he had meant to happen this weekend.

He had nearly gotten to Messena, only a stones throw from the border with the Adirondaks on his heels when his cell phone began buzzing at his hip. He fully intended to ignore it, but after a few seconds reprieve, it sprang to life again ... and yet again.

Cursing in agitation, he pulled his bike over with a screech and killed the engine, snapping the phone from its strap and momentarily struggled with attempting to accept the call. Stupid contraption!

"Okay, what?" He barked, making no effort to hide his aggravation.

Xaviers voice on the other end of the phone seemed unbothered by his venom, and began calmly. "I'm sorry to disturb you Logan, I know how you enjoy your weekends away from the school, but something urgent has come up and you just happen to be in the vicinity."

_X-men business_, Logan thought with a smirk. "Tell me it requires a heavy hand. I have some energy I wanna work off."

"It very well may come to that, but I stress the need for care. A mutant's life may be in the balance." The voice on the other end said gravely. "If you recall the last meeting I gathered of the X-men, I shared that there were many unauthorized hacks into the mutant registry files, particularly concerning dna samples taken?"

Logan frowned, recalling it with vivid clarity. That damned mutant registry. Mutant kind had won out in the sense that not all mutants had to register once the act was passed, but if a mutant were arrested, or had to file anything via the authorities, if they were mutant, they were forced into registry. A mutant couldn't call the cops for a noise complaint without being forced into registration. The latest stereotype about mutant kind was that a registered mutant was a dangerous mutant, but it simply was farce. Just more ignorance on a grand scale.

"Yeah, what of it Chuck?" He answered, fishing a cigar out of his pocket. He began to chew the end, patting the breast of his jacket for a lighter.

"Forges plan to discretely monitor the registry has paid off. We received an alert last night. A vast amount of files were open, but one was downloaded." Hearing the concern in the Professors voice, Logan refrained from asking the obvious question. Why was a downloaded file such a big deal? His question was answered in the Professors next statement. "I was able to locate her on Cerebro, Logan. She's in the custody of Nathaniel Essex, and from the distress I sensed from her, it is very much against her will." Wolverine felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. was the most inhumane conscienceless demon of a mutant he'd ever encountered. He took sadistic delight in capturing mutants, obtaining their dna, and had an unhealthy fixation with telepaths. He remembered the rage and disgust he'd felt over the monster when he'd wanted to turn his experiments to focus on Jean! Sensing Logans turn in thought, the Professor assured, "Jean is safe, and from what I can discern his interest is far removed from her at this time. He has obviously been searching the data files of registered mutants looking for something in particular. Only a few were telepathic in nature. There seems to be no link between mutant powers and the mutants he's targeting."

"Were any other files downloaded?" Logan asked, suddenly remembering the cigar in his mouth and at last finding his lighter to light it.

"No, this girl was the only one downloaded. I have made a copy of her file. I've already sent it to your phone via email. I also sent you the location where I sensed her and Essex."

Well, that explained the dual rings he'd had earlier. He'd assumed that Charles had called twice. Apparently one was an email alert. Pulling the phone from his ear, he checked briefly to see he indeed had a new email. He frowned as he took a long draw of spicy smoke off of his cigar. He hated this damned thing. His fingers were too large to hit the tiny buttons and he hadn't even learned to fumble around with computers yet, never mind the tiny one he held in his hand. He replaced the device to his ear. "Okay, I see it."

"I need for you to go there and free her. She's only recently gotten her powers Logan, she likely doesn't even know any degree of control yet. She's afraid and confused. We need to get her out of there and if possible, bring her to the school for help."

A new mutant stuck with Sinsiter? Great. He really wasn't the right fit for this job. Someone gentler and more tactful with social grace would have been better. Like Jean, or even someone like Hank, but not him. He was too brusque and rough around the edges and he'd probably traumatize the poor kid before the day was up. He thought a moment. A new mutant would probably put her at only 13 or 14 years of age, which was the average age for burgeoning mutants to discover their abilities. Damn damn damn, this wasn't a good fit!

"Look Chuck, I'm all for helping, but I'm not exactly the soothing type for a hysterical kid-"

"I would normally send someone else, yes Logan, but you are only a half hours drive from where she's being kept, you'll be able to get to her and get her out of danger the fastest. Given this is Sinsiter we are dealing with, you cannot argue that time is a factor. Please, Logan, this is urgent."

The Wolverine gave a soft snarl as he resigned himself to this. If he was lucky, at least, he may be able to sink his claws knuckle deep into that pale skinned bastard.

"Fine." He relented. "Anything else?"

"I've told you all we know at this time. All we know of her is in the file I sent you. Check it and get moving quickly. And thank you Logan."

"Yeah, sure..." He said before hanging up, once more cursing his large fingers as he fumbled to do so.

It took him a minute to figure out how to get to the file, and was irritated to learn it was as simple as tapping the screen on the file link that Charles had sent. The file that came up surprised him.

This was no child as he had initially thought. It was an 18 year old girl, a young woman who had mutated only four months ago! He read the file as quickly as he could, knowing he had to hurry up and get back on the road. The first few details were simple. Her name was Olivia Fitzgerald, straight brown hair, 5 foot 5 inches tall, white, female, the usual profile song and dance. He skipped over schooling information and religious affiliations, bored to tears at just glimpsing the topics. Mutant abilities his eyes zeroed in on. Only one was listed. Invisibility. The file also mentioned a lack of control over it, to the degree that a photograph wasn't even provided, as was usually a custom in the registry entries. He snorted in agitation. Dammit a picture would have been useful in locating her. The previous details about her appearance suddenly took on much more importance. Next was page after page of what was labeled 'genetics', and tons of science mumbo jumbo that he didn't have the patience to try and figure out. He then came across an entry labeled Reasons for Registry. He started skimming it, and slowly, a feral growl rumbled deep in his chest.

_Parents brought 17 year old girl into police station after discovering their child had vanished from sight. Subject invisible but not intangible. Parents insisted on registry. When questioned, the girl accused three classmates of molesting her to be the reason for the transformation, but these claims cannot be proved or disproved. Subject stubbornly insisted that she could not revert back into sight for photographs to be taken. For refusal to cooperate with authorities, girl was kept in custody overnight before being released back to her parents the next day. Subject left headquarters still invisible. Whereabouts, now unknown._

The information was vague, but painted a painful picture of what the kid must be going through. He didn't know to what extent the girl was molested, or why her parents had brought her to the police station to be registered instead of filing a report against those boys or even bringing the girl to a hospital for help, but the scenario in his mind wasn't a pleasant one. Already it was his understanding that three boys had taken advantage of her, and the experience had been traumatic enough to trigger her dormant x-gene. He was no stranger to the stories of what registering was like. He had no doubt that her claims were swept under the rug and ignored for the simple fact that she was a mutant.

It was sad, but her situation wasn't unique. So many mutants had been triggered from acts of abuse and met with an utter lack of empathy. It was what often made mutants bitter and even more dangerous. He knew now why the Professor felt such urgency to get to her and help her. He didn't want her to be among the jaded ranks of mutant kind, an all too easy place to find oneself in such a callous world.

After glancing at the coordinates Chuck had sent, he replaced his phone on his hip and brought his bikes engine back to life. With a squeal of his tires, he made a u-turn and rocketed off in the right direction. He knew where this place was. On the other side of Messena through the thick of the town was a few abandoned warehouses by the train tracks. If Sinister had acquired her locally, it was an ideal place to keep her until he could move her to one of his many facilities.

If her abilities were as under developed as her file made them seem, then she would be helpless to defend herself. With the wind lashing at his face and tousling his hair and overgrown sideburns, he felt himself smirk. Well that's what he was for, wasn't it? He'd taken on the role of protector for those kids at the mansion on many occasions, threatening, attacking, and even killing anyone who dared to try and bring harm to them. And as an X-man, he was no stranger to a dangerous mission. If this kid needed someone strong to stand between her and Sinister, then he was the man for the job!

The question still remained nagging at him, however. What could Nathaniel Essex possibly want with a new mutant who's only ability was to be invisible? Jean he could understand, being a powerful telepath and a formidable opponent with, what Essex had declared, superior genetics. Maybe it was within all those pages of DNA and genetic codes that he didn't understand. He huffed. That was a job best left to Hank to figure out. His job right now was to get to the girl and get her to safety, simple as that, then he could get back to his road trip.

By the time he reached the area in question, only 20 short minutes had passed. He pulled alongside a local building, killed the bikes engine, and stuffed that infernal cell phone into the duffel bag on the back of his bike. The last thing he needed was for it to go off while he tried to stealthily make his way through the buildings. He took off his jacket and draped it on his seat as well, leaving him in his white wife beater and dog tags.

Armed only with the claws in his hands he began to make his way towards the warehouses. His body was slightly crouched as he moved, like a spooked animal wandering into territory that was not his own. His nose twitched constantly, carefully filing away all the scents he detected. As of right now, it was his nose that was leading him.

There was warm sun-heated concrete, an old spill of gasoline, dandelions thriving in the cracks of the asphalt ... Nothing out of the ordinary for a place like this. He even smelled the evidence of stray cats in the area, the spray of toms in particular. This was going to take patience, and Logan had never been a very patient man. He scanned the area for evidence of human activity, but found none around this building. He moved on to the next, and instantly he began to smell things that made his brow lift in confusion. He smelled people, some he was familiar with and knew should not be here. Amidst it, was that cold clammy smell of decay, pungent, but somehow alive. Sinister! He bit back a growl, trying to remain silent as he found a door. He sniffed the handle. Again, many scents, none of them good. He listened carefully. Silence. He reached for the handle, and gave it a try. Locked, but no door was ever truly locked to the Wolverine!

The claws on his right hand came out with a ringing 'shnct' sound, and he shredded the door at the latch, tearing through wood and metal alike as though it were mere paper! It swung open to admit him entrance, and with a glance to be sure the coast was clear, he crept inside.

It was an old lumber mill, smelling strongly of wood chips and mold. He grimaced, realizing it was black mold, the dank environment a massive breeding ground for the toxic spores. It was overwhelming his nostrils, which flared as he tried to pick up any scent that might belong to the girl. Seeing nothing in the immediate area, he moved to a corridor and crept down it. Through the veil that was hindering his senses, he began to detect those of living beings, but they were confusing. He smelled something that was like Scott Summers, but it was wrong. All wrong. There was also-

"Sabertooth!" He snarled, instinctively unsheathing his other set of claws and readying himself, but on the next inhale, he decided that that scent was wrong too. It was his nemesis, but it wasn't...

Something odd was going on here...

Then, carried on a draft, there was something sweet. Like brown sugar and vanilla. And salt. He frowned as he tried to narrow in on it. That smell was one of tears, and a lot of them. It had to be the girl. For him to smell it at this distance that kid had to have been crying pitifully for a long while.

He knew with how feint the scent was that it couldn't possibly be coming from this hallway. He followed it to the end and came across stairs. They were metal and from the creeping orange color that tainted the shiny metal, it was obvious that the neglected staircase was succumbing to it's damp environment. He frowned deeply. How in the world would these flimsy stairs support his metal clad skeleton? To think his own immense weight was what stood between him and rescuing this girl! It was an infuriating road block. Made worse was the fact that it could obviously support the weight of the average man. It took only one slight flare of his nostrils to tell him that this was the much traveled path to the area used upstairs. He had no choice but to chance it.

He cautiously put his boot on the first step, trying his weight on it. The step whined a high metallic pitch in protest, and he winced. That was too loud, and he worried for a moment that maybe it had alerted the occupants of the warehouse to his presence. He had to hurry! He dug his claws into the wall beside the stairs, and used his own strength to ease the burden of his weight on the steps. Using this method, he was able to reach the top platform in front of the second floor doorway.

He listened carefully to the sounds beyond. There was a slow loping gait that was moving away from the doorway to the left. He waited until the sound was feint and distant before trying the door, finding it open. No one was to be seen, but those footsteps were still present. He took a quick sniff of the air around him. Where was that scent of vanilla and brown sugar? He knew that was what he had to zero in on. His nose brought him right, and he made haste to a hallway adjoining the room he was in.

There were a few rooms with closed doors, in one of them, they had to be keeping the girl. He tried the first door in the corridor, ready to fight if need be, but the room was empty. He tried the next one with the same results, but this room smelled stronger of the vanilla and tears, yet remained empty. His brow lowered. She had been here, the smell still fresh. He wandered into the dark room, getting a strong whiff of the smell within. This was the scent he had to zero in on. He found it pleasant, not too overpowering as some women used their perfumes. He strode to the center of the ill lit room, finding the smell strongest in the right corner. He cautiously approached it, his boots scraping slightly against the linoleum, when he heard a soft shuffle, and he froze, eyes darting about.

The room wasn't empty.

"I ain't gonna hurt you kid." He rumbled quietly, slowly retracting his claws to punctuate his words. Dammit, he just wasn't good at this! If he could see her, he would have hauled her over his shoulder and gotten her the hell out of there and made nice later, but not being able to lay eyes on her that method was impossible! He listened hard for any sound at all, trying to hear her breathing, but she was utterly silent. He took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. Whether or not they had time for this didn't matter. He had to make her come out of hiding on her own. "Olivia, I'm here to get you out of here. You don't want to be in this place, right?"  
More silence met his straining ears, but beyond the room, deep in the warehouse, he was hearing footsteps approaching. His patience was dwindling, looking towards the door with his hands clenching in agitation. When he did, he heard her take a breath, coming from the right corner of the room that he had been advancing on. It was an odd gasping sound. Had she been holding her breath all this time just to remain silent? He quickly approached the corner where the sound and scent came from, and knelt down, searching with his dark eyes, but seeing nothing.

"I want to help you, but I can't do that if you don't let me!" The steps were growing closer, and more hurried, their time running out with each passing second! Voices joined them, and he cursed under his breath. He reached forward, and his hand came into contact with warm, soft flesh. A shoulder, he realized in relief. Gently, he tried to coax her to her feet, but was met with resistance. His hand moved down and came against ropes wrapped around her, and something else. He frowned. "Can you stand?"

There was no reply for a second, and then, came a thinly voiced reply that spoke of hours of tears. "No, I'm on a chair..." Never happy to hear a lady sound so broken, Logan felt his heart go out to her, but it was overshadowed by urgency. It looked like his desire for a fight was impending and his only disappointment was that he couldn't liberate Olivia before it happened. At least she couldn't get spooked and run off on him!

Logan straightened up and faced the door with his arms held out, ready to slaughter whatever came at him. His arms twitched as the triplet blades split his skin and came free of his body. The pulse of his blood thrummed in his ears excitedly, eyes harrowingly narrow as they focused on the open doorway, on his approaching prey!

The area behind him rustled, and he became aware that the girl was struggling desperately where she sat, a pained whimper resonating in her chest. He might not have known what was coming, but she apparently did!

When that abomination appeared in the doorway, a hulking and loping beast that smelled and looked like sabretooth with the glowing red eyes of Scott Summers, Wolverine found that he didn't blame the girls fright. It, as he could hardly call this misshapen mass a human, was twice his size easily, naked and covered with wiry hair and a ploom of white from his chest over his shoulders. The thing sneered at Logan revealing sharpened canines and sprayed spittle from his tongue as it roared intimidatingly!

Unphased, Logan stood steadfast against the towering monstrosity and roared right back with a viciousness to rival it! He'd gone up against mutants and beasts bigger than him on plenty of occasions and came out the victor, this would be no different! They stared each other down, and he chuckled.

"And I thought Creed was ugly." For a moment, he thought it a rather fun twist that he'd get a chance to dig his claws into what appeared to be a genetic mix of his two least favorite people! Another genetic experiment of no doubt! "Let's see if you're as tough as the real thing!"

The beast charged, and Logan, smaller, but quicker, leapt over it with ease, twisting in the air and digging his claws into his shoulder to stop himself on his opponents back. Savagely, he tore into the flesh and muscle tissue, gouging out chunks of meat like a shovel in dirt! He had to inflict as much damage as possible as quickly as possible. If this thing was indeed part Victor Creed, it would have a healing factor, and the more damage he did, the more time it would take for the wounds to close!

Animalistic screeches of pain bellowed through the room as the massive creature tried to get a hold of the man tearing away its back, throwing itself this way and that with arms bent over its shoulders trying to reach the source of its pain! Finally, when it realized it simply wasn't limber enough to grab at him, it slammed it's back into the wall repeatedly, trying to crush the smaller man! Logan let out a cry of pain as his metal bones buckled, but held fast, but again and again the crushing blows continued. Inwardly, he smirked feeling that motivating torrent of pain! It was on now!

The girl began to scream, a sound that struck Logan at his most primal level! Through the pain of being crushed, he heard the fear and worry. She saw him as the man who could save her, and not knowing of his impressive regenerative qualities, she saw her hopes being dashed before her eyes! Well, she was going to be in for quite a surprise then, wasn't she?

The assault ended, and he fell limp to the floor, still moving like an insect half crushed by a boot. His shoulder popped back into place with a loud crack, and the countless abrasions and split skin began to thread themselves closed. He got to his hands and knees, looking at his opponent. It was on it's hands and knees, breathing labored as its own injuries fought to heal, but being so extensive, it was slow in coming. The victor would be the one who healed first!

Logan got to his with unsteady slowness, earning an amazed gasp from his audience. He rolled his head, cracked his neck, and smirked as he began to straighten up, standing tall and now fully healed. This thing didn't have the advantages of a metal skeleton. All he had to do was take off its head and it was done!

"Hey kid, if you can concentrate on getting yourself visible, that'd be great! Kinda hard to rescue ya if I can't see ya!"

He was striding confidently towards the hunched beast, his claws dripping with its blood and ready to sever its head from its shoulders. It was a task he was seconds from completing when its head tossed to look up at him with a red inferno brewing in its eyes!

"Shi-" Logan barely cursed before the full thrust of the optic blast hurtled him back from the genetic hodge podge and into the rooms furthest wall! It caved inward in a crater upon impact, dry wall falling in chunks as he slumped to the floor with a pained grunt. Well, that didn't feel good, he thought with a throaty growl, trying to bite back his cries of pain as the skin reformed on his head and his left eye regenerated. That had been a dumb mistake and it was costing him valuable time! That damn beast was going to heal before him at this rate and then what would happen to that kid? He opened his good eye and lowered his hand from his blasted skull, the gleam of the adamantium beneath the blood and tattered flesh slowly but surely disappearing from view as he healed. His eye was still gone, but he had the pain to fuel him!

With a savage bellow, he charged again! The creature was getting up, continually firing blast after blast at Logan, but he would not make the same mistake twice! He rolled and dodged each, all the while gaining on it, and then, when he was within distance to attack, the creature thrust out a hand. It was there one second, and then, it was gone, twitching on the floor! Shocked and in pain, it grabbed its severed wrist, affording Logan the opportunity to plunge his claws up through its jugular! It shuddered in its dying throes, lips sputtering blood before Logan expertly twisted the trio of knives, separating head from neck. It instantly fell down dead.

He took a moment to catch his breath, his pectorals and broad shoulders heaving. It would be a few more seconds before his burning wounds closed completely, and he didn't want to look towards the girl and risk her seeing more gruesomeness. For him, such sights were nothing, familiar even, but this had to have been hard for her to witness being so young and green. Feeling his scalp tingle, he blinked both eyes, his vision blurry for a moment and then crystal clear. Healing was done.

He turned, hoping to see that Olivia had managed to become visible, and was pleased to see that indeed, a girl tied to an old office chair was sitting in the corner of the room. Her shoulders were hunched, leaning forward in her chair, and her long brunette hair, having been falling loose from a poorly tied ponytail, hung haphazardly around her face. Her arms were bound behind the chair and her ankles to the bottom.

She was watching him with uncertainty, her breathing slightly labored. It was anxiety, he assumed. The recognizable aroma of it was coming off her like the leaves off a maple in the fall. There was also a visible tremble to her frame. She had helped him by becoming visible at least. So obviously, in spite of her fear, she wanted his help.

He moved close to her chair, holding up his hands to signal he meant her no harm. "Easy kid," He said, trying his best to be soothing.

"I'm going to cut you loose, then we're going to make a run for my bike. I'm going to take you somewhere safe where these guys won't be able to reach you." Her wide expressive eyes followed him warily through a part in her pin straight locks, and as he was about to slice the ropes off of her, his gaze caught hers.

He paused, letting his dark brown gaze meet her own and holding it fast. Being so close to her, there was no way he was mistaken. Her eyes were a very vibrant, very noticeable shade of violet. It wasn't entirely unusual, many mutants tended to have an altered eye color after blooming. Gambit had red eyes, Jeans were the brightest green he had ever seen, but this was the first time he'd seen purple for himself, though he was entirely sure there were others out there. He found it surprisingly nice, the detail adding something quite alluring to a young woman who otherwise looked pretty average.

It did make him take a better look at her though. She wore a pair of very well worn in jeans, tears in the knee from continuous use, and her tank top was purple with a layer of black lace covering it. He wasn't sure, but they might be two different shirts entirely, but he was sure that the garment was very flattering to the curve of her breasts, which were large enough to slightly overlap the ropes that were wrapped around her ribcage. What could he say, he was a man, and men took notice of these things. On her feet were a black pair of boots that made him crack a smile. Harley Davidson riding boots. Hers had seen a lot of love judging from the scuffs they suffered, and he found himself wondering if it was a reflection of her style or a hint to a pastime he could appreciate. He didn't ask.

Instead, he unsheathed a claw and slowly so as not to frighten her, slipped the blade into the back of the chair, splitting each twisted fiber of the ropes carefully from behind. He could have easily taken a quick slice to them from the front, confident that not only would the restraints be shredded, but the girls skin would be perfectly unblemished from it. That wouldn't of course, do much to ease her anxiety, would it? Even going slow as he was, she was rigid as a plank.

This couldn't continue. He knew he was a savage and she had every right to hate him for the bloody spectacle he had subjected her to but he was also here to help her, dammit, not tip toe around her delicate sensibilities!

He brushed the ruined ropes off of her and in his no nonsense way, said, "Look, I know you've gone through hell and I'm a big scary guy who just got pretty bloody, but you need to focus on getting the hell out of here, you hear me kid?"

She didn't move from her chair, still as stone, but her eyes were very solidly fixated to his woefully. The girl was hesitant to come with him, her face pale and hands restlessly grasping the edge of the chair with white knuckles.

He lifted up his hand, retracting the claw he'd used to free her. "Is it these?"

She shook her head mutely, and he surprisingly felt himself relieved by the answer. Too many people had been instantly put off by the claws in his life, and in this situation, he was relieved to know that wasn't going to be another brick in the wall keeping him from getting her to safety.

"Is it that?" He asked, pointing to the dead monstrosity bleeding out in the middle of the room. Again, she shook her head in the negative. That surprised him as well, knowing he hadn't held back and had been certain he'd scarred her for life doing what he had.

Maybe she was made of tougher stuff than he thought.

He felt stuck, and her inability to just open her mouth and just tell him what was going on was driving him nuts! Exasperatedly, he growled "Well, if it's not me rippin some guy apart in front of you, then why won't you let me-" He stopped suddenly, the words on her registry file suddenly springing to mind with crystal clarity. He groaned a little, hating that he hadn't pieced it all together sooner. Much more gently this time, he asked, "Is it because I'm a man?"

Her eyes grew a bit wider, obviously surprised that he had come to that conclusion. How could he, after all, have known what had happened to her? He had known her name though, so maybe someone who had known all of that had sent him.

In answer, her eyes instantly brimming with moisture, she gave a little nod.

Poor kid, he thought, careful to keep his hands on his knees and away from her. He nodded a little, understanding what the problem was now. Quietly facing her, he assured, "I promise I won't touch you, not even to lead you out of here, unless you give me the okay." He offered his hand to her, leaving it up to her whether or not she would put her own into it. "Come on kid," He coaxed, "You can trust me."

She looked at his hand, sucking her lower lip between her pearly white teeth.

"Do you believe me?"

Her eyes flitted from his hand to his eyes, those dark earnest eyes that had been feral and untamed just five minutes previous, were now regarding her with warmth and sincerity. Who was this man who was capable of murder one moment and such tenderness the next?

Nervously, she nodded in the affirmative.

"Then take my hand, and let me get you out of here."

Olivia's gaze didn't waver from his this time, no more apprehension or uncertainty. This man could help her, and was willing to do so.

She put her hand into his, and held it tightly.

**Read and review please, all comments are welcome! **

**There will be more from Olivia's point of view in the next chapter. I wanted to use this one to try and deliver my interpretation of Wolverine. He's going to be a brutal and devastating fighter. **

**As a challenge to myself, I purposely gave Olivia a power that I would hate to have myself. I didn't want to fall into the trap that some writers fall into of giving her abilities I could only dream and fantasize of having, because if mutants were indeed real, they wouldn't be able to choose the talents they would have. **

**Bear with me as I weave this tale for you! Thank you for reading!**


	2. Glimpse

**I spent some time in this chapter to get you more acquainted with Olivia. She's pretty naive and inexperienced, suffering from Post Traumatic Stress, and but still hopeful. Also, she is religious, and I hope that doesn't put anyone off. Hopefully it'll be interesting to see how her views of life and the world conflict with Logans. They are two very different people, and I am going to have one hell of time bringing this all to life! **

**Also, thank you to the user zuzzzu, who watched this story. It's my very first bit of feedback from this site, and it is incredibly appreciated! **

Life used to be pretty simple. Olivia would get up, go to school, stay late with her chorus instructor for voice lessons, go home, do homework and go to bed, and repeat. Family life was pretty good too. They went to church, went to movies, had dinners at the kitchen table in the evenings, everything the ideal American family was supposed to have. Sure, they didn't always approve of her staying late with her vocal instructor, but no family was without their squabbles after all, and if that was the worst of it, she'd heartily consider herself blessed.

Besides, she had always been a good kid. She'd stayed out of trouble, never fell into the wrong crowd, hell, she'd had few friends at all. She thought that even if bad things happened, she had a family who could work through it, a supportive household and her beloved maestro! It was all she had needed in the world, and she had put such naive blind faith in it that she never even wondered about the future being anything but bright. She would graduate high school, go to a college for the arts, hone her voice and artistic abilities, and then take the stage and Broadway by storm! At least if she could work through her embarrassment of performing in front of others ...

Fate, she decided, had a very cruel and depraved sense of humor. There was only one thing in the world that she knew of that would turn her family up side down. Her father was very political, and his passionate support of the likes of Trask- when she was a child- and more recently, Senator Kelly, borderlined on fanaticism. Their lawn had been decorated by more than one very opinionated picket signs in favor of things like mutant registration, mutant control laws and protocols, and even 'Senator Kelly for President'. The one thing she knew that could effectively divide her family was if a mutant emerged among them.

She had always thought it was a stretch to imagine it! After all, there were far more humans than there were mutants, outnumbering them so heavily that the mutant minority hardly ever felt like a problem to her despite what the news reports claimed. But she had been wrong. Oh so very very wrong.

Olivia shuddered against the ropes in her seat, trying to push away the poisonous memories that clawed ravenously at her sanity. She did all she could not to think of that miserable day and the unending torture it had plunged her into, but her mind would not be deterred from it, seemingly set on reliving each agony filled second as often as possible. She still felt the bruising grasp of those boys on her as they drug her behind the library, three sets of hands groping her, clawing her, and greedily stealing any innocent wonder her body had to offer. Even if her mind tried not to, her body remembered it all, and once more, it responded with revulsion. She dry heaved, but with her stomach so empty, nothing could come up but a sob.

How long had it been sinse she had eaten? Two days? Three? God she was so hungry, but even if they had given her food and the free hands to consume it, she'd be too afraid to partake of it. She didn't trust this man and his hulky 'pet'. As it was she had been plucked off the streets by a huge hairy monster with glowing red eyes and thrown over his shoulder as though she were nothing more than some parcel. She had screamed, and that had been her first mistake. He'd thrown her to the ground, lifted her by her hair, and hit her in the back of the head so hard that her world instantly went black!

When she awoke, she was in this musty cold room and bound tightly to this old office chair. Her ankles fared well thanks to her boots, but her wrists felt miserable and raw, numb from the tightness. She also noticed that there were several puncture wounds on her arm, looking suspiciously like those of a needle. As soon as she realized the kind of danger she had to be in she was concentrating on vanishing, not caring how long it would be until she was visible again. If whoever had done this to her couldn't see her, they couldn't stab her with any more needles. Her cheeks were wet, and continuously fresh hot tears trickled down her cheeks and neck. She wouldn't make a sound, and keeping the sobs of despair safe in her chest made her tremble relentlessly. They never once stopped.

Olivias struggle with her mutant powers was ongoing. From the first day she disappeared she had been straining to learn the secret to controlling it, but seeing as fate had demented plans for her, it would be an entire month spent in invisibility before she discovered that her powers had a very unusual trigger.

She gasped, eyes freezing upon the doorway to her prison as she heard footsteps! As a musician she found they were odd in their tempo and nothing like the gait of a normal human being. Each footfall was lumbering and heavy and as they grew closer, she could also make out heavy throaty breathing. Her breath caught in her lungs as she watched the slim sliver of light under the door fluctuate as a shadow moved in front of it. She prayed fervently, Please no, please God, don't let him come in here again! I swear I will do anything, just please- The footsteps passed her by and she shakily exhaled, fluttering some of her loosened locks against her cheek. She sniffled, some more hot tears scalding her cool face.

The hours ticked by slowly but she learned that the passerby was someone guarding the area and specifically the room where she was kept. Every few minutes he passed by again, never entering but always seemingly present. Time continued to pass this way, until a different set of footfalls stole her attention, the other more familiar set joining the other in front of her doorway. It opened, admitting the beast who had abducted her and-

All color drained from her face and her stomach twisted painfully in her belly! A man she didn't recognize entered the room, looking more like a vampire lord than any human being. His skin was chalky and white, and his hair a dark oil slick combed back from his face, revealing a red pinched diamond shape on his forehead, a shape that he also wore emblazoned on his leather clothing, ploomed strips coming from the collar. It was his eyes however that disturbed her the most. They had no pupil or iris, looked like pools of freshly bled blood and as lifeless and cold as a sharks.

Even though she was invisible, he obviously knew she was there, striding towards the corner where he had left her. She tried to shuffle away from him, her chair creaking noisily.

"It seems you have woken my dear." He said in false geniality, his voice sounding from an age of aristocrats long past. "If it makes you feel better you may stay as you are, it will not bother me. I came to inform you that your stay here is drawing to a close! That should cheer you up, correct? I will escort you via an arriving helicopter to my facility. All plans have been made, and preparations for you are complete!"

She kept her lips pressed tightly together, her heart hammering mercilessly against the cage of her ribs. Burning questions raced through her mind, but she dared not give voice to any of them.

"What's the matter? After all the trouble I have gone through I would have at least expected a thank you. Or is it you are upset by the circumstances of your capture?" When again she did not answer, his face twisted into a horrific scowl. He reached out, into the blank space before him, and somehow found a handful of her hair and jerked her forward. Olivia whined in pain, straining against his grasp as he leaned in close to her squirming form. "You are to be the catalyst of greatness, child, and it is only at my whim that you will do so in comfort or suffer abysmally. You would do well to learn gratitude. Now, I believe you owe me thanks!"

"Go to hell." She whispered defiantly without looking at him, surprised at her own boldness. She had always been meek and gentle. Even when those boys had raped her, she didn't even scream she had been in such shock, but now, this moment, after enduring so much abuse she didn't want to give any man an inch of leverage over her if she had anything to say about it.

He smirked and let her go, slowly straightening to his full height.

"You, child, are going to suffer greatly for such insolence."

He had left after that, and the beast with him returned to his sentry duties, leaving her there to contemplate her future. He hadn't revealed much to her about what he meant to do to her, only that, thanks to her mouth, it wouldn't be an easy experience to endure. She could hardly endure the knowledge left with her. After trying to survive these last three months without warmth or affection, usually starving, left with intrusive returning memories of the fateful night of her mutation, how could she endure more?

_Please God, I know you will not let me go through anything I can't endure, but I just don't know how much more I can take!_ Olivia prayed, her eyes squeezed so tightly shut that even her tears had trouble finding a gap to escape! Her hands tightened into fists and bowed her head deeply, pleading,_ I can't go on this way, I feel like I'm going to shatter under the pressure! Please give me strength, some means of deliverance, something to help me before I break!_

With sharp suddenness, the door to her small room burst open, admitting a stranger.

Startled from her pleas to a higher power, she held her breath and grew perfectly still. At first, the man looked like he had expected to fight, but when he saw no one inside, he lowered his hands which were split between the knuckles with what looked like long knives! She felt her eyes grow wide, studying those hands from afar. Could they really be coming out of his body like that? His nostrils flared, the man smelling the air as he wandered into the center of the room. From this distance, she could see that indeed, those blades were very deeply imbedded between the hollows of his knuckles, but he didn't seem to be distracted by the pain, if he was experiencing any at all.

Satisfied that her eyes were not deceiving her, they wandered to the rest of him, wondering if he was working for that devil that had come in earlier. He was gruff looking, tall , and dressed simply in a pair of jeans, a white wife beater, and a belt and buckle that separated the two. Dog tags hung around his neck, glinting in the dim light. With bated breath her eyes followed his shoulders, which were broad and powerful, and from them were attached equally impressive arms wrapped in taut bulging muscles. A dusting of masculine hair peaked from the neckline of his shirt and peppered his arms, but the hair on his head and face was the thickest. Sleek mutton chops framed his strong square jaw, which seamlessly merged into his dark hair as it oddly swept back on each side of his head.

Olivia felt a strange fluttering as she watched him, but still said nothing as his eyes roamed the room, assumingly to search for her. After all, she was still not sure why he was here and maybe he was going to drag her off to her promised suffering. Her best bet was to keep quiet and wait the moment out.

Then, at the barest of movements from her, his head snapped in her direction, eyes almost perfectly locking to her own, but that just wasn't possible! She was invisible, he shouldn't have any incling as to where she was!

"I ain't gonna hurt you kid." came his warm gravely voice, his hands moving up above his head non threateningly as the knives slid back into his body.

She wanted to believe him, but somehow she just couldn't.

"Olivia, I'm here to get you out of here, you don't want to be in this place right?"

The shock that this man knew her name was short lived, dwarfed by the sound of the beasts footsteps approaching from down the hall. Where as before her nervousness with this man had been reserved, now the fear was bubbling to a boil inside of her. He noticed the sound too, and he began to look agitated.

She wasn't able to hold her breath any longer, and she let out the stale air with a little gasp. He expertly detected her exact position from that small noise and came towards her. She tensed, shaking again with each step he took, but instead of hands reaching out for her, he simply knelt, eyes searching the space he knew she occupied but unable to locate her. Being safely out of his sight, she studied his face at this close proximity. There was a hardness to his features telling of years of hardships, but the way he spoke and the warmth in his dark eyes soothed away any of the reserve she had for the beautiful stranger.

As those footsteps grew closer however, she could see that softness fading into urgency, a tightness in his jaw as he spoke this time, "I want to help you kid, but I can't do that if you don't let me!" And his hand lifted, brushing her shoulder with his warm palm. It wandered the skin a moment, introducing a newer and stronger flutter to her belly, before his massive hand closed loosely around her shoulder and coaxed her to stand. Met with dead weight, she saw the revelation in his eyes. He moved his grasp and it came into contact with the invisable ropes. The frown that resulted darkened his face considerably. "Can you stand?"

She held back from answering a moment, knowing that this was the moment she had to decide whether or not she would entrust him with her life. Seeing that it was between trusting him and trusting the beast and the vampire man, the choice was very clear.  
Her voice broke when she whispered, "No, I'm on a chair."

There was a glimmer of empathy in those midnight eyes of his and she was moved by that slight bit of tenderness, but the sound of the best quickly approaching cut the moment short.

He stood, and turned his muscled back to her to face what was about to come. He couldn't possibly mean to fight the beast that had abducted her, could he?! It was enormous, feral, and anxiously, she began to strain against her bonds in hopes that if she got loose by some miracle that they could just leave! Then knives shot out of him, like the claws of a cornered animal ready to fight his way through whatever stood in his way! When the creature appeared and roared over the much smaller man, her would be savior bellowed wildly right back, much to her amazement.

It was then the fight began, moving so quickly that Olivia had a hard time following the quick succession of blows! Before she knew it, the much smaller man was on its back mercilessly digging pounds of flesh and blood out of his opponent! Her ears hurt from the pitch of the screams the beast produced at this torment, and for a moment, Olivia thought maybe this man could win and really take her out of this place!

Those hopes were shattered before her eyes when the creature began to crush her savior into the wall! Over and over again with such force the whole room shook, the man was squashed into the buckling wall! He screamed, oh god he screamed and she wanted to get to him to make this thing stop hurting him! He had only been here to help her, he had tried to save her, and she was so distrustful that she couldn't just let him! Now they were both going to die! She bent over and cried as he was at last allowed to slump to the floor, twitching and broken. She wished that he could just be put out of his misery instead of wallowing there smooshed, but as each moment slipped into the past, something became very obvious. Both feral men were healing! The skin and flesh on both the creatures back and her hero was slowly but surely closing! Exhausted, the animal just remained on all fours, waiting for itself to be back in fighting shape. The man she had thought to certainly be at deaths door, was actually getting up, popping vertebrae and bones back into their places as he steadied himself! She could only stare, utterly stunned.

He looked like nothing had happened to him at all, and she listened dumbly as he called to her, "Hey kid, if you can concentrate on getting yourself visible that'd be great! Kinda hard to rescue ya if I can't see ya!"

She quickly she obeyed, squinting her eyes closed so she could block out what was going on and do as was asked of her. It wasn't an easy task by any means. Despite her countless hours clocked in trying to learn how to control it effectively, her invisibility was as hard to lift as a concrete slab! Perspiration gathered on her forehead and temples, concentrating and willing the veil to shift. The familiar ache began to move into her joints and down the marrow of her bones until it burned like fire! She clenched her teeth, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Slowly, she began to fluctuate back into view. A heavy impact to her left almost distracted her, pained sounds begging her to open her eyes, but she was too close to her goal! She soldiered on, keeping her eyes closed, and felt a ripple of pain in her center that spread out into all of her limbs. Almost, almost there, and then she exhaled in relief, knowing she was within sight. She looked to her lap to be absolutely sure. Seeing her favorite pair of jeans, worn and comfy in her sights, she smiled. She'd done it!

Her eyes lifted up in time to see the man with his claws buried deep in her prison keepers throat only for a second later to have the head guillotined completely off! She had never seen anything so grotesque! The thing shuddered as its life left it, and slumped to the floor in a heap. Its executioner didn't look like it had gotten to this point unscathed either, and he seemed to remain in that spot with his back turned for several tense seconds. She could make out the blood on his face, a glint of metal beneath it, but largely he concealed the wound from her, apparently sensitive to her witnessing his injuries.

After a short time, the wound seemed to vanish, and he shook his head brusquely as though to toss away the last remnants of sensation of it. He then turned back to her as well as ever and looking pleased that he could see her. Blood slowly oozed down his claws, and splatters of it stained his wife beater.

She quivered, watching him like a cornered rodent watched the cat hunting it. It was just the two of them now and suddenly being alone with him triggered something unsettling in her mind and body, something too powerful for her to ignore. Her empty stomach turned over on itself remembering all too swiftly just how devastating an advancing man could become! Even without mutant powers, men could hurt, impale, and destroy for their own pleasures. The rational part of her mind didn't think this man would do that to her, but the surging memories fueled only instinct and learned fear overpowered it easily. More wet tears trickled down her face and her body trembled again.

"Easy kid." He said, holding up his hands once again. "I'm going to cut you loose, then we're going to make a run for my bike. I'm going to take you somewhere safe where these guys won't be able to reach you."

He was moving in to cut the ropes off of her when his eyes met hers. She didn't need to wonder why. Her eyes were an unusual color, and it was usually those eyes that made people back away suspiciously, calling her a mutie and much more profane words. This man didn't seemed bothered by them, much to her relief. In fact, she swore she saw the corners of his mouth dart up on one side in a very handsome smirk. For a moment she was flattered that he seemed to like them, but then his eyes wandered her. It was a brief overview, but it was an action decidedly male in nature, especially with how his dark eyes settled on her ample chest for a split second.

Her entire body became rock hard with tension, but he moved to the back of the chair and expertly sliced away the ropes that fastened her to the chair. The sensation started to return painfully to her hands as she brought them to grasp the seat, glad for the discomfort that distracted her slightly from the uncomfortable moment she found herself in. He didn't look very pleased at her refusal to move.

His voice was rough as he scolded, "Look, I know you've gone through hell and I'm a big scary guy who just got pretty bloody, but you need to focus on getting the hell out of here, you hear me kid?" She frowned deeper, feeling badly about her distrust when she knew he was trying to help, but she just couldn't bring herself to answer. "Is it these?" He asked, holding up his hand as he retracted the claws. She shook her head in the negative. "Is it that?" He pried, gesturing to the dead beast in the room.

Again, she shook her head, her silky brown hair falling in her face to her her shame. How could she tell him what was wrong? To tell a man who had come in here and fought like a lion to free her that she was afraid of something that had probably not even crossed his mind? She knew how paranoid her fears were as she had to deal with them every day, but to explain them to someone else without sounding accusing or pathetically irrational was utterly impossible!

She flinched when he growled, obviously loosing patience with her. "Well if it ain't me rippin some guy apart in front of you, then why won't you let me-" He stopped suddenly, eyes getting just a bit wider as he realized what the problem was. He made a soft groan of self deprecation before gently asking, "Is it because I'm a man?"

How had he known? Was her misery and fear so transparent? He had known her name though, so maybe someone had sent him for her, but how they had known was a mystery to her. Her tear soaked lashes came to rest against her cheeks as her chest shuddered with breath, more warm tears marking paths down her face. She nodded, and his expression turned compassionate.  
"I promise I won't touch you, not even to lead you out of here, unless you give me the okay." He said reassuringly, putting his open hand between them for her to take.

She eyed the palm and slightly curled fingers, debating inwardly what she could do. She could put her hand in his, go with him, and see where that path took her, or she could stay and let that madman torture her and bring her to a new appreciation of pain. Her eyes drifted from his warm brown eyes to that hand. He had arrived here while she was praying to God for a savior. Had her prayers been answered through him? The choice now seemed clear.

"Come on kid," He urged, "You can trust me."

She knew in that moment, as the circumstances of this meeting became clear, that she did trust him, and when he asked her if she believed her, she found it easy to nod in the affirmative.

"Then take my hand and let me get you out of here."

Her hand left her side and eased into his. It was warm and strong, and a second passed before her grip tightened on his firmly and faithfully. His digits closed around hers, like iron bars that not only surrounded her hand, but the rest of her as well. She was amazed to find that he made her feel safe.

"Thata girl." he murmured proudly, glad that they could finally get going.

Her heart gave a tiny leap, and she smiled back at him docilely.

With a satisfied nod he stood with her, the chair giving a groan as the weight left it. He was easily a foot taller than her and standing this close she could smell him. It was a musky mix of smoke, pine and rain, a smell that she committed to memory with innocent reverence.

"Stay close to me, Liv," He said as he helped her over the hairy victim of his claws. His large hands went to her waist and hoisted her weightlessly over it. She squeaked in surprise, amazed at how effortless moving her was to him! He continued, "If we run across trouble, stay behind me and out of the way. Otherwise, I want you right here." His hand grabbed hers again and she understood his meaning clearly. She held his hand tight and followed him into the unknown.

He went to the door, stopping there and sniffing the air. He huffed, finding that all he could make out was the damned black mold and the corpse in the room. At least the brown sugar vanilla scent that clung to Olivia made the sniff of air slightly more pleasant. He peaked his head past the door. No one was there. He moved quickly, leading her confidently.

"Hurry, ole' pasty face probably isn't far." He hurried to the door that led to the stairs and paused, his brow scrunched as he heard the approaching whip of a helicopters blades. Olivia, a few seconds later, heard it too.

She swallowed the dryness in her throat and after a moment to gather her courage, she spoke at last, breaking her self imposed silence. "He said he was going to take me in a helicopter some place."

He opened the door to the stairway. "Fancy that, you actually have a voice!" He teased with a roguish smirk. He stole a glance her way. "You should do it more often."

She found her face feeling just a bit hot at his playfulness, put at least partially at ease by his light tone. She murmured a shy thank you.

"Guess I got here in the nick of time." He remarked, thoughtless as to how unnerving his words would be to her. "A few minutes later and you mighta been gone, kid."

And just like that, the ease was undone.

She didn't want to think of how true his words were. Just before he had arrived she'd been face to face with the most terrifying man she had seen in her life! If he hadn't come when he did, she would be being led to that helicopter and far removed from the man who had come for her. Just to reassure herself that she was going to be okay, she clutched his hand a bit tighter. All what ifs aside, he was here now, and he had said he would take her some place safe.

He stepped out the door and glared agitatedly at the rickety staircase. "Shit." He muttered as he looked down at them. Was it normal to feel mocked by an inanimate object?

"What's wrong?" She asked trepeditiously. She searched for the problem, worrying that maybe someone was coming that would further delay their escape.

"These stairs won't support my weight," He grunted, "never mind both of us." He let go of her hand, and gave her a nudge forward. "Hurry down as fast as you can. We're gonna have to make a run for it once we're down there."

She took two steps forward at his urging, but she felt far less sure about his command the closer she got to the stairs. What if something came to meet her once she was at the bottom? What if that scary man came back while they were separated and he took her to the helicopter?

"Olivia, trust me, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." He said firmly, "Just get down the damn stairs and make it quick! We don't have time!"

Apprehension vanished quickly and she obeyed without letting her mind dwell any further on it, scrambling down the creaking metal stairs until she was at the bottom. No sooner had she left the last stair did she heard the staircase give a mighty groan of protest.

She turned in time to see it crashing down, taking Logan with it!

**And Logan lands on his sexy adamantium ass :D **

**I hope to get the next installment of the story out by Thursday! If you can spare a moment to tell me how I'm doing, I'd greatly appreciate it!**


	3. Iridescence

**Hello dear readers! *is met with silence and the melodic chirps of crickets* Well, I assume you're out there, haha! This chapter is shorter than the others, but I'll be gone all weekend and wanted to upload something before I leave tomorrow. Here we'll get to see these two interacting a bit more, from some playful poking to a moment or two of connection. I'm working on really building up where the chemistry between these two will come from. I hope you guys like the 'slow burn'. Hopefully the next chapter will bring a few more logs on the fire ;)**

Logan stared up at the ware house ceiling, sprawled across the bent and broken ruins of the rusted stair case. The fall hadn't been that bad, hell, he'd fallen from worse heights and lived before, but the twisted metal that had 'cushioned' his fall was far from comfortable.

"Well that was easy." He lied, groaning as he began to sit up. "Piece of cake!" He staggered, catching himself against the wall.

Olivia let out a breath of relief to see him rise from the rubble, the tension slowly releasing from her stress bound body. "Sir, if I hadn't seen you heal from being crushed already, I would have thought you were going to die. Are you alright?" Her voice shook as she walked back towards him, offering him a hand to help steady him. "You should be careful, all of these battles and falls can't be good for you."

"Heh, it's cute of you to worry," He rumbled with a chuckle, only using her to help right himself for a moment before he was fully healed, "But I haven't come across anything yet that can keep me down for long."

It was cute of her to worry? Cute? That was oddly condescending considering she had only been concerned for his safety. If only she had the nerve to tell him so, but her gratitude for him helping her escape overshadowed his rudeness. She ignored it and moved on.

"-and don't call me 'Sir', kiddo. I'm not a damn aristocrat." He took her hand again, pulling her down the hallway.

_No kidding_, she thought saucily. _Aristocrats have manners._

Despite the reprimand in her thoughts, she once more felt comforted by the pressure of his hand taking hers. Okay, so he was rough around the edges, but he was her liberation. He deserved her gratitude, and what was more, had her admiration.

"You could tell me your name? You have me at a disadvantage knowing mine, which by the way, I'd like to know how you do-"

He suddenly stopped, jerking her behind him and pressing his muscled back to sandwich her protectively between himself and the wall. His black eyes were focused and alert, nose twitching as he detected something beyond in the main ware house that she did not. Her free hand rose, grasping the fabric of his shirt and twisting it worriedly in her fist.

Olivia jumped against him as a tomcat scurried past, and he relaxed, face calmed and watching the animal a moment with a sense of camaraderie. It was but a second of time, but it was gentle, and Olivia found the ever expanding repertoire of this man utterly mystifying.

"Logan." He answered, going back to their previous conversation as though the interruption had never taken place. "I know your name because I read your mutant registry file."

Her expression plummeted, and she quieted again. How he had gotten her registry file was of less concern to her than the fact that he had seen its contents. That could only mean that he knew about those boys from her school and what they had done to her, which -looking back- made sense considering he had pieced together why she'd had trouble letting herself go with him in the first place. That information was private to her though, and she hated that he knew. No, no that wasn't it, was it. She hated that she wasn't the pure unadulterated girl she had once been, that every relationship for the rest of her life with any man -friend or otherwise- would be sullied by the fact she lacked purity. Every hole had been invaded and sullied, every inch of skin burned with their eyes and touch! There was not a single corner of her that she could offer chastely to her future lover and husband. That was what she hated. The initial stirrings of attraction she had already felt for Logan were extinguished like the smoldering butt of a cigarette beneath the grinding of a boot. He knew she was used up. What use was it entertaining a fantasy predestined to be unrequited. She stole a soulful glance at him as he surveyed the main expanse of the sawmill. No, a man like him wouldn't bother with a stray girl like her. With that, she tried to push it from her mind. Friendship might still be an attainable goal.

The helicopter blades were growing deafening by this point, and once more, they were making a dash to the exit. Her inquisitive gaze didn't miss the claw marks that had ruined the lock and forced the door open. As she kicked the wood chips from her boots, she saw that even the doorknob hadn't escaped, and lay in pieces at their feet.

"Subtle." She muttered sarcastically.

He countered with an equally sarcastic, "Thanks!" Logan was apparently not known for his tack.

It took only a glance to see that the helicopter was landing on the very building they were in, and they were going to have to move very fast to get to his bike and out of the area unseen. Logan had already discovered that Olivia lacked any real physical stamina and just for the jaunt through the sawmill he had to slow himself down substantially just to be sure he wouldn't be dragging her behind him. He made a mental note that if she stayed at Xaviers school after this whole ordeal, he'd see to it that he changed that. In the mean time however, he'd have to continue to move at her pace.

He pointed past the building they were facing to the next one down, rubbing his thumb reassuring over the back of her hand. Olivia's chest gave a blissful flitter, and she innocently returned the gesture.

"That's where my bike is, you ready?" Logan said tugging her a little closer along side him.

Her eyes were drawn to the smouldering sun, only a few short minutes away from embracing the crest of the horizon. Her violet eyes began to grow a little brighter now that they were outside, luminous in the dimming light. Her brow lowered skeptically.

"The sun's going down." She said quietly.

Logan looked down at her, eyes drawn to her brightening violet orbs. "Yeah? And?"

She took a deep breath, nodding. "We need to hurry then. I disappear when the sun goes down."

He had to fight to keep a groan from leaving his mouth. Compounded with everything else, having to handle her while she was invisible was going to just make this more challenging. Yes, he loved a challenge, but liking a good well matched scrap was different than this. Rubbing his face briefly at this revelation, he focused on calming down.

"Okay kid, I've heard of weirder." He admitted as they started to make their way as fast as they could through the vacant lots. "Anything else you feel like telling me?"

"I won't be visible again until morning, and only if I see the sun rise. Otherwise I stay gone until I do see one." She hurried to keep up with him but was quickly becoming winded. On top of it, she felt like a burden. "Logan, I'm sorry, I know this complicates things!"  
"Don't apologize, you can't control it yet." He led her around the corner of the building. Beyond the next corner his bike was hiding. "Least I know what to expect. There she is!" He called when he saw his Harley there waiting for them, the waxed black body looking sleek and wet in the waning light.

Even breathless from running and anxiety, Olivia managed an appreciative coo over Logans machine, the small shy girl suddenly vanishing into something more enthusiastic. She stroked the chrome and fawned over every detail as he hastily moved his duffel off the bitch seat and to the back.

Amused, he smirked and asked, "So you _do_ ride?"

"A little. Admittedly the bike wasn't mine, but I used to love helping out my cousin Travis with his bike, it was cherry red and an older model so it needed a lot of maintenance and repairs, but they were good times." She got into the bitch seat as though she were slipping onto a throne, her expression warm with affection as she reminisced. "You always see the best things when out on a bike, and you experience the world so differently. You feel, smell, and taste wherever you go, all of your senses are engaged in the experience. It's freedom."

Logan waited a moment to get on the bike in front of her, his interest captured by the way she spoke of her memories on a bike. Maybe her rides were shorter lived than the long jaunts he tended to go on, but she knew the spirit of the road, and that was a language he understood. He handed her the helmet, which she promptly strapped on.

The bike bobbed heavily as he got on in front of her, smiling to himself. "I hear ya, kid. There's nothing like the pull of the road." He reached behind him, taking her wrist and bringing it around him so she'd have something to hold on to. Of course it never hurt that it was the touch of a pretty passenger. Odd how his opinion of her had gone from average and plain to pretty over the course of a only, maybe, half an hour.

AS her fingers crept around his muscled torso, she spoke, hoping to keep the blush out of her voice. "We'd go for some amazing rides afterwards. He got me these!" She lifted her scuffed and worn boots proudly.

"Looks like they're well loved! Good girl!" He jabbed the keys into the ignition and turned.

"The suspension on this thing is unreal!" She called over the roar of the igniting motor.

"It has to be, my skeleton is metal and a normal suspension system would just ruin the bike after carrying all my weight."

"Metal? Is that why the stairs gave out on you?"

"Naw, I had a big lunch. The meatball sub probably pushed it over the edge."

She actually laughed, and Logan couldn't help but think that the sound was soothingly musical. He patted her hand as the bike began to move. "Hold on tight, I think the speed limit is more of a suggestion!"

Again, she laughed, and he swore he felt her grin on the back of his head as she scooted a bit closer, both arms circling him and holding firm. With a bellow the bike pounced forward like a cheetah down the road, quickly leaving the warehouse prison behind them.

As they drove off, Olivia dared to turn her head back to the cluster of buildings they retreated from. Holding onto Logan like an anchor, it was strange but it felt as though she were waking up from a bad dream. She still felt the weight of the past three months of fending for herself, of being hungry and struggling to survive, but the fear of facing abduction and the suffering that man had promised paled. She'd seen what Logan could do, what he had done to help her and what he could survive. She didn't know how long he'd be with her, if this was some strange line of work and he'd be on to the next at some point, but for now, she felt safe for the first time since that fateful evening she mutated. Her grasp on him tightened and she rested her head between his shoulder blades. She wanted to enjoy the feeling for as long as she had it.

Logan felt her embrace him, and a gentle smile shifted his muttonchops. That poor kid had been through the wringer. Of course, having to face Nathaniel Essex on any level was intimidating, but knowing even vaguely that she'd been out there fending for herself, ousted by her family after being abused, he felt a deep whell of sympathy for the trauma she must have endured. Now that she was out of immediate danger and could relax a bit, he wasn't surprised that she was communicating her gratitude this way. It was sincere and effective, and begged to be returned. He patted her knee before giving it a little squeeze. Damn that soft spot, Xavier and all of his charity was wearing him down. As the circle of her arms held him a bit more firmly, he decided maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, short as it was. More next week, see you then!**


	4. Ghost

**I want to thank all of the new watchers I got for this story over the weekend! I haven't really gotten much feedback, so knowing someone out there is reading is something I deeply appreciate! So thank you, ca186229, blacksparrow125, dancingangel1107, deathbatdrone, and FallenAngelFox!**

**About this chapter, I need to be sure I post a warning. There is a LOT of discussion about sex in this chapter, and a brief interlude involving it. Some of it may be triggering for those who have suffered sexual abuse. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

Logan hadn't been kidding when he said he viewed the speed limit as a suggestion. With the throttle thrown open Logan bulleted that bike towards the I-87 like hell was on their heels, and all Olivia could do was hold on tight! She would have loved it under any other circumstances. She would have enjoyed being on this magnificent machine with such a fearless man at the helm and taken it all in like a savory morsel of chocolate, but her eyes were worriedly drawn towards the horizon. The velvet darkness was encroaching upon the last colorful shards of daylight, the last sliver of golden sun only precious seconds away from vanishing. She'd been feeling the taut pull of it deep in her bones. The waning light seemed to tug something right out of her, something that she somehow needed, and it always left her in the same state; in a cloak of invisibility that no amount of straining and will power could lift. The worst was about to come, the beginning pangs starting to make her shake.

"Logan!" She called over the ripping noise of the bike, unable to take the flux of the transition any longer. "Logan, pull over!"

He'd been enjoying the ride so far. She was a good passenger, knowing when to lean in with the turns, when to hold on tighter and even when it was safe to let go completely and just feel the wind whipping under your risen arms like a bird trying to take flight. On these curvy Adirondack roads, it was important to know. She didn't say much, and he kind of liked that she didn't feel like she had to try and coax conversation out of him. After all, being on the road wasn't about gabbing, that's why the engine was so loud. So when she spoke up about pulling over he didn't hesitate in the least to do so. He slowed, slipped the bike over the white fog line and killed the engine before turning to look back at her.

He blinked in alarm, seeing that his passenger was quaking and fading away. He had been told to expect it, but he hadn't been told that it would hurt her. Her face was twisted up and she was bent forward, hands braced on the seat between her legs.

"Liv, you okay?" He reached out gingerly to the fading helmet shrouding her face and pulled it off her head, marveling that when it was removed from her, it lost its transparency.

"I'm sorry, it just-" She stuttered through her chattering teeth, "-it just hurts when it's this close!"

Her eyes were closed, her head dipped low between her shoulders. The marrow of her bones burned like molten rock, not a single one spared as her body transformed. Logan's eyes glanced to the setting sun and then back to her, as by the second, she became less and less visible. It didn't take a genius to realize that she had wanted him to pull over because this jarring transition may have made her teeter off the moving bike. He sighed, nodding to himself in understanding and reached out to put an arm around her shoulders. It sucked being a young mutant. She lifted her chin to look up at him, vague lines of her body still visible but those purple eyes shining as vividly as the colorful sky of the encroaching twilight above. Like twin stars in her face, his eyes were magnetically drawn to them. Before when he had noticed their color, they simply looked violet. Now, it looked like light was shining behind them. He had the vague sensation that he were embracing a ghost.

"Does it last long?" He asked quietly.

She shook her head in the negative, and forced a barely noticeable smile. She couldn't trust her voice to talk, her body now shaking. A moment later she shuddered violently, a sob disturbing the air as the sun finally vanished. All at once, that mysterious vacuum within her body finished, and the burning pain became a memory. She was gone completely now, but Logan could hear the relief in the next breaths she took. He smiled, glad it was over.

"Better?"

"Yeah, much. It doesn't last long. It's weird, like suction, and it burns, but then as soon as the suns completely down it's over and I feel fine. Invisible, but fine."

"Good. It does get easier, you just have to figure out how your powers work." He handed the helmet back to her, which disappeared as she took it. It was interesting that it would, but not the entire bike. It was worth exploring once they got to the school. "You know, I'm taking you to a 'Xaviers school for Gifted Youngsters'. It's a a place for people like you and me, Mutants, where you can get instruction, an education, and help controlling your powers and find your place in the world. Sound like something you're interested in?"

There was a moment of silence as Olivia took that in. It sounded too good too be true. "I'll have to know more. Would I see you there?"

"I instruct there, mostly training, self defense, and some other stuff."

"You don't strike me as a 'teacher'." She teased with a laugh on her words. He turned around to get back to the bike and she put her arms around him. It was weird to feel her shift her weight in her seat and hold onto him without being able to see her.

"Yeah well, I dunno exactly how I got pulled into it." He started the engine again, but paused when he felt her tug his shirt a couple times. "Something wrong?"

"How far away is this place?" She asked.

He glanced to the sign ahead. They were headed for I 87 South to take them down the New York border, past Albany and into Westchester, but they wouldn't reach that for a while yet. He replied, "Six hours at least."

She groaned a little and though she said nothing Logan figured it out relatively quickly.

"Tired?"

"Yeah." There was a pause. "And...I'm starving." She hated to give voice to this after all he had done for her already. "I don't have any money."

He squeezed her knee reassuringly again, glancing at the deceptively empty space behind him.

"I've got ya covered, Liv." When her hand slipped over his and squeezed it in reply, he added, "There's not much by way of stops around here, but I've traveled these parts enough to know of a place. It's not all that nice-"

"I'm not picky." She interrupted quickly, "Really, I'm not, I'm just spent."

"Alright then. There's a roadside pub I hit from time to time on the weekends, and they've got a couple rooms they rent out up above it. It's usually for hookups and drunks who can't drive home, but I've been known to stay over there. It's about 20 minutes. Can you hang on till then?"

She nodded, her head resting on his back again so that he could feel her response.

"Alright kid," He called over the bike as it moved forward again. "Just don't fall asleep on me."

There were a few moments in that short drive where he thought she just might. She'd drowsily sway a bit to the side, catch herself, and hold on to him tighter. He could tell it was hard for her, the needs of her body more demanding than sheer power of will. When he pulled over at the roadside dive, her sigh of relief was audible even over the rumble of the bike.

"Thank goodness." she breathed as he pocketed his keys and got up, the suspension of the bike making it shoot up a couple inches without the burden of his weight. She laughed a bit, feeling herself bounce upwards with it before she got down.

Placing the helmet on the seat as Logan unstrapped his duffel bag, she looked around. The driveway was dirt and in desperate need of regrating, peppered with cigarette butts and a few empty and broken beer bottles. Neon beer signs hung in the front windows below old drawstring blinds and despite New York states law against smoking in public places, she could smell the potent tobacco and cigar smoke from here. The roof was missing shingles, and the siding bore old paint that was chipping away. She frowned. She had said she wasn't picky, and truth be told, she wasn't, but she had never been into a bar before.

"It looks like a rough place." She said as some country music began spilling out of the building.

Logan tugged his jacket on, effectively hiding the blood stains and tears in his shirt from the fight earlier. He looked at the place, considering her words.

"Looks can be deceiving." He said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. He began to make his way to the porch, and she followed close behind. He didn't need to look back to know where she was. He'd had her scent in his nose long enough to know exactly where she was now.

He brushed the low hanging bulb and the surrounding moths out of his way before he pulled the door of the bar open, pretending to check his bag for something there in the doorway to allow her time to squeeze in. He pulled a cell phone out of the bag and shoved it into his back pocket. He'd have to call the Professor and let him know how it went.

Inside, Olivia found herself having a hard time breathing and choked a little bit on those first few breaths, but no one seemed to notice her unseen struggle. No one but Logan that is, who just smirked at her reaction as he lifted a cigar to chew between his teeth. People who didn't smoke didn't understand the need to do it, and he'd always found those little 'virgin lung' coughs amusing.

The place itself was what one would expect of a bar. A few scattered tables and chairs, some booths, and a line of stools waiting to be filled in front of the polished counter of the bar itself. There was a jukebox playing Big n Rich in the corner, a woman in a sundress who'd had a bit too much liqueur swaying off tempo to the beat. It made Olivia cringe.

Almost instantly, a waitress was there with a lighter in front of Logans face, her vivid green eyes twinkling mischievously into his own. She had long toned legs and shorts that were as short as she could get them and riding so low on her waist that Olivia could see her red g-string! A black t-shirt advertising Guinness was tied in a knot to show of the crease of her abdomen and the perfect swell of her large womanly breasts. Her carrot top hair was perfectly curled, and her smirking lips were painted crimson.

"Hey there, Logan," She flirted shamelessly, rolling her hips as she shifted her weight from one sandal clad foot to the other, "It's been way too long and I was starting to wonder when you'd be back here." She batted her lashes as Logan puffed his cigar to life on the offered flame. Olivia just stared awkwardly, glad for once to be invisible.

"I toldja I come through here often enough, Laura." He straightened and blew out a curl of smoke. "Just gotta be patient and be around when it happens."

"Or you could let me know when it happens?" She offered, patting a pocket on her shorts where her own cell phone was half concealed. The pocket honestly wasn't deep enough to fit it with the shorts being so scanty. "So I can make sure to be around?"

"Or I could find another bar to waste time in, and tell your old man that you're still trying to shack up with me." He glared down at her, mildly anoyed but taking it in stride.

"Logan, you're horrible!" She chirped with a smile, utterly oblivious to Logans cues to be left alone! "Dad will be glad to see you! If you're in town long we could tell ya where some good matches are going to be held. They've been moving them to a different place each weekend to try and stay ahead of the cops. They keep trying to shut them down."

"There's a reason they're illegal kiddo." He reminded her, but his eyes betrayed that the offer appealed to him.

She nudged him with her shoulder, murmuring, "Yeah, I know, people like you, right?"

"Damn right. Where's the old man? I need a room and some grub to take up."

The redhead looked around, then pointed to the far end of the bar. "Right over there! See you Logan, I have some orders to take!"

The woman hurried to a table past him, her voice carrying over the bustle of the bar even as Olivia followed Logan to the other end of the room. She was overwhelmed by the small snippets of information she had gotten from the exchange. Matches that the cops are trying to shut down? What kind of matches would Logan possibly be into? Dog fighting? Cock fighting? None of them sat well with her at all. She thought Logan worked at a school, like a PE teacher or something, but obviously there was a lot more than that to him. She brushed her hand by his, just needing the connection to help settle her, when he hooked his pinkie into her finger and squeezed. She took a breath, counted to 8, and relaxed. She needed to not jump to conclusions. After all, she had seem how he had reacted to the cat that had crossed their path in the warehouse. It was hard to imagine he'd take pleasure from the suffering of any animal.

There was a big man leaning against the bar, his broad shoulders and beer belly tightly wrapped in a t-shirt. His red hair was thinning and balding, but he proudly donned his long hair in a braid at the back of his neck. He wore an old Levis jean jacket and jeans that were stained and stank of oil. His red mustache twitched around his mouth as it formed at smile at seeing Logan!

"The Wolverine! Damn good to see you Logan!" Their hands met in a firm clap and a vigorous handshake resulted, "Here for a few cage matches?"

"Naw, just passing through this time Doug." Logan said with a shrug. "Just need a room for the night, two beds if ya got it."

Doug looked around suspiciously, expecting to see someone else with him. He looked right at Olivia, but being invisible, couldn't put the situation together. Her pinkie curled tighter on Logans finger in thanks.

"Even if you weren't by yourself Logan, you asking for two beds is like a devil asking for a prayer book! It's just plain odd."

Olivia bit her lip to keep from giggling at that. Apparently her guardian was popular with women. She, of course, understood why. Most hot blooded women would be attracted to him.

Logan cleared his throat, and lifted his duffel bag to set on his shoulder.

"Whats so weird about it? Been a long stretch of road and I want some food and sleep."

"-and that usually means a pretty lady and a good fuck!" He laughed and added, "Hell, Jeanette won't shut up about the last time you were in town!"

"She's still around?" He asked, looking mildly embarrassed. "Well damn, not much I can say to that, just want to go get a good snooze."

"With two beds?" He pried.

"Maybe I don't want to put my shit on your nasty floors." Logan said evenly. He really should have thought of a reason to have two beds before walking in here, but it didn't occur to him. He, after all, fought with his fists, not his intellect.

"Fair enough, Logan." Doug conceded with a chuckle, getting up and slipping behind the bar and into the kitchen. He returned with a six pack of Corona. "Here, what'dya want from the chef?"

"Pizza and wings. Honey Mustard this time, not buffalo."

Again, Logans request was met with a funny look, but then a shrug. "Alright boss, you know what you want! But I don't have rooms with two beds."

"It's alright, I'll figure somethin' out." Logan said, looking put off by that news. He thought for a passing second. "A cot?"

"You expectin someone?" One sharp look from the Wolverine told him that it was none of his business, and he held his hands up in surrender! "Okay okay, none of my business! I'll see what I can do for ya. Go on up the stairs and pick out a room. None are booked and they're all unlocked. Just lock the door behind you and hang the tab on the knob so I can record what room you're in."

"Sounds good." His hand left Olivias and took the beer. "Have the food sent up when its done, with a bottle of coke too."

Logan headed to a hallway marked 'restroom' and Olivia stayed close. He rolled his eyes as he passed it, and it took the a few seconds for her to learn why. The door jostled against its hinges, the wet sound of slapping flesh almost drowned out by the pleasured moans and gasps of its occupants. Olivia blushed fiercely, pausing briefly to stare at the closed door. Her own sexual experience had been far different than this couple, the only sounds of pleasure in her memory made from the boys who had taken her. Even now as clear as the day it had happened, she could hear their moans hitching and feel their thrusting growing urgent as they approached their release, and she unable to do anything but wait and accept their filth. She felt sick as she remembered how helpless she had been, how hopelessly overpowered and used. Her empty stomach churned again, but still, she stood there watching and listening to the creak of the hinges. The people behind that door were not having that experience though. She could hear their lips and bodies meeting in union, the octave of enjoyment in their voices. Together, consensual, harmonious...

She envied them bitterly.

Logan paused, hearing that her footsteps had ceased following him. He looked back, nose twitching once. Filtering through the scents of the strangers coupling nearby, he still smelled her there, but why was she stopping at such a scene? It was just a cheap bang in a nasty bar restroom, geez, it was really nothing-

Aw hell. He almost forgot that this kind of scene might be upsetting to her. What'd the professor say it was called when he'd dealt with these things? Something to do with a gun but he couldn't remember the exact phrase.

He shifted where he stood for a second, moving on past his train of thought to the matter at hand, and after a moment to make sure they were alone in the hall, he walked closer to where he detected her scent.

"Is it bothering you?" He asked, not sure how to breach such an uncomfortable subject to someone who was potentially so sensitive to the subject.

"I'm jealous." She confessed in a shamed whisper. She didn't know why she was telling him, only that she somehow could not stop herself. "They don't know how bad that can be. They're so casual with it that they'd subject themselves to the filth of a bathroom to have it..." Her voice got softer, almost cracking. "...and I'm afraid to even think of anyone touching me again, even if it's not supposed to be hell every time. Or not supposed to be hell at all."

Logan listened uncomfortably, feeling the weight of her confession on him like a yoke on a bull. He thought about that with a measure of guilt. No, he'd never lowered himself that far for a bit of release but he'd known men who had. But he had let himself know the comfort of a strange womans arms. Sex had been an avenue of letting the animal out, letting him rut like his instincts wanted, much to the pleasure of the women he bedded. He was good at it, to be blunt, but hearing Olivia speak now made him suddenly reconsider everything. Sex had only been for release, but to her it had been torture. Would she ever heal enough to know about intimacy, the part of love making that had been robbed from her? He wondered for himself suddenly. When was the last time that sex had really meant something to him?

He hesitated, but finally had the courage to ask,"It was your first time they took from you?"

"Yeah." She answered, her voice sounding fragile.

He didn't want to know, but he asked anyway. "How many of em'?"

"Three."

Anger like hot acid crept through his veins, and he clenched his fists. It was bad enough to know sex at it's very worst, but it was another thing entirely that it was all she knew of sex at all. All she knew was being dominated and used, by not one, but three. It was unjust, and it inspired something primal and vengeful in him.

"And the boys who did it to you?"

The silence that resulted said all that had to be. They had gotten away with it. The little bastards had taken this girl and her innocence without any accountability at all.

He understood now why hearing the couple in that room was so distracting and upsetting to her. She couldn't even think of sex without feeling resentment for those who could actually enjoy it, those who didn't know the dark and violent acts she had to endure.

His mood was ruined and he strode to the door with a purpose. He couldn't punish those boys for what he did to her, not yet anyway, but he could punish this couple for not having any respect for what they were doing. A claw shot from between his knuckles and with a well aimed slice, he destroyed the latch of the door. He stepped out of the way in time for the couple to be spilled unceremoniously to the floor, the woman with her skirt around her hips and the man with his pants around his knees. Acting as though he were simply walking by, Logan looked down at them with a risen brow. They scrambled embarrassedly to cover themselves, shameful at being caught in the act, as they should be. Logan just days ago would have just moved on without much care, but today, he found the sight disgusting and was feeling pretty good about exposing them.

He headed to the stairs and was half way up them when he felt a slightly clammy hand close around his.

"Why did you do that?" she asked.

"There's a time and place for acting like that, and a public bathroom ain't the time and place. Maybe they know that now." He puffed his cigar and looked back towards her. "Besides, it was upsetting this nice girl I know."

She felt her face get hot at his words, and she hurried up the stairs behind him.

"Thanks Logan."

"Don't mention it kid."

He was in the hallway, checking out the available rooms. He looked in the four doors and checked out each of the four rooms before he went back to the first he'd seen. He went into that one.

"This one smells the cleanest." He remarked passingly, holding the door open for her. Olivia went inside, not quite sure what she was expecting, but tired and hungry enough not to care.

He set his duffel bag and six pack down on the bed and peaked into the bathroom. It was a shower with a floor drain and no curtain and the sink was old and cracked. It was, however, clean. He gave it a nod of approval before he moved back to the bed and sniffed the sheets. The rest of the room wasn't much. There was an old wooden chair, a bedside table, and a window. The floors were hard wood and in need of being refinished. Again, a nod.

"This'll do."

"I thought you'd been here before." She said, wandering over to sit down on the chair and unzip her boots. She sighed as her feet were released from their bonds. They appeared as she dropped each onto the floor, followed by a pair of hole ridden socks.

He chuckled, "I meant for you, kid." He turned towards her, smelling something shockingly potent. One by one, those socks plopped into view out of seemingly no where. They were burning his sensitive nose with a power that few females could pull off. He wondered how long they'd been on her feet!

He cleared his throat and took the plastic bag out of the trashcan. His claws shot out suddenly into the fabric, and used the tips to safely dispose of them. He then tied the bag in a knot.

Olivia scoffed, "Isn't that a bit overkill?"

"Not with my nose."

She couldn't argue that. From what she'd seen he had the nose of a bloodhound! Sheepishly, she answered, "Sorry."  
"Here," Logan was unzipping his bag, and she watched as he pulled out a tshirt, drawstring pajama pants, a small bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap in a ziplock bag. "I know you're hungry and tired, but it'll be just a bit before the foods up here. Why don't you go get clean, you can change into this." He gathered it all up and handed it in her direction. Gratefully, she accepted, mentally noting that it all smelled like him.

She wanted to head to the shower, to do as he asked, but she hovered there in front of the bed near to him. He'd taken her away from that madman, had sat with her as she turned invisible, got this room and food for her to eat, and was giving her his own clothes to wear. She felt hot tears of gratitude melting her cheeks.

"I ... don't know how to thank you for everything you're doing for me Logan."

The emotion in her voice made his hand shake a little as he rezipped the duffel bag. He also smelled tears again. He'd read her file, yeah, and he thought he had known what he was getting into, but reading of her abuse and seeing the results of it was incredibly different. He felt like a jerk saying your welcome for just showing her human kindness, so instead, he reached his arm out, caught her shoulder, and gently brought her into his strong protective embrace.

She didn't resist or flinch away from his touch, remembering very well the promise he had made to her when they'd first met. He wouldn't touch her if she didn't want it. Even if he hadn't promised her anything, she had witnessed the man he was and he had earned her trust. Logan wouldn't hurt her. Her arms encircled his ribcage under his jacket, fingertips pressing into the muscled shoulder blades in his back, cheek over his heart. The pressure of her hands were well placed and felt good, drawing a soft rumble from his chest.

"Don't thank me, Liv." He shushed, his hand lifting to stroke her hair as he felt the wetness of tears spreading against his skin in the fabric of his shirt. "I'm going to get you to that school, you'll get help controling your powers... If you're ready to tackle it, we can get you help in dealing with what happened to you. And you don't have to do it by yourself."

"You'll help me?" She asked innocently.

He dared to hold her a little tighter. He had meant the Professor or Jean, other friends that she'd make at the institute who would know how to comfort someone like her, but now that he heard her little plea, he realized he couldn't refuse. Those little hands grasping his shirt, the wetness of her tears on his chest, and knowing she was alone in this world skewered that ever growing soft spot in the Wolverines armor. She had been strong enough to carry this burden by herself for months. She hadn't given in and given up. It showed spirit and vitality, and he'd seen strong feisty glimmers of it already. Yes, he could help her remember who the girl under all of this pain was.

"Yeah,... yeah, I'll help you, Liv" He promised, "If you can put up with me getting impatient and saying the wrong things from time to time that is. I can be an ass."

She laughed through her tears, resulting in a little hiccup as she nodded. Logan would help her, she repeated to herself. Before, knowing she had to do it all alone was too daunting for her fragile soul to bear but now the comfort in knowing that she wasn't alone on this journey gave her courage.

"They call me Wolverine." He said, his fingers combing into her ponytail briefly, "You have a name for yourself?"

Olivia looked up into his smouldering dark eyes, and smiled bravely. The Wolverine. Somehow, she really liked how that sounded. As to his question though, she had thought about it a lot in her time alone. For a while, it wasn't an easy task until one day she was once again stuck outside during sunset. She was between light and darkness, between the seen and the unseen, a human but a ghost. So she had named herself after the cause of her metamorphosis.

Looking up at the Wolverine, she answered him.

"Twilight."

**I really hope I don't get teased for her mutant name. I gave her the name Twilight back in 2004 before I even knew what the actual Twilight genre was. I don't want to change it because I feel it suits her. **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to post a new one asap! Please post a review if your reading, it'd mean a lot to me to have a little feedback about how I was doing here.**


	5. Fading

**WARNING! This small chapter is being uploaded as a small segment so that the squeamish can skip it easily. This is highly triggering and I do not recommend anyone with a history of sexual abuse read what follows!**

**For the rest of you brave ones, well, here :)**

The first warm spray from the shower head felt like a thousand tiny kisses hitting her body all at once. The girl sighed melodiously in bliss, resting her forehead to the old tile and just letting the hot water run over her in winding ribbons. How often had she dreamed of showering again? Months of only cleaning up in a public bathroom sink leaves one longing for the simple luxuries she had taken for granted before. Sure she had taken great pains to get as clean as possible with what she had, but it had left her feeling gritty and unclean for a long time. Now though, now she felt the build up of grim releasing.

Her eyes cracked open, watching droplets on the wall in front of her run into one another. The last shower she had taken had been the day her parents brought her home from the police station.

_ "Of all the things in all the world she had to be a mutant! A mutie, Darlene!" Her father threw the door of the house open with such force it rattled the windows in their panes. The man was in his early fifties, his hair neatly parted and combed and his eyes mostly obscured by an outdated pair of bifocals resting on his nose. He was mostly fit, sporting a little extra weight which was typical in a man of his age. His face however, usually neatly shaven and healthily tanned from yard work was red in anger. "How long did you know Olivia? How long have you been keeping this from us?"_

_ "Please calm down, Spencer." The woman who followed him inside began to reason."You heard the questioning, she said it just happened yesterday."_

_ The woman was in her forties, her hair dyed and permed to be curly and blonde but looking more frizzy and white today. Her greying roots were showing and her fingers were nervously twisting her wedding ring._

_ "And you believe that drivel? Mutants manifest during puberty Darlene, she's obviously been keeping it under wraps for a long long time and now that she's lost control of herself she's caught! Darlene! They all loose control eventually, that's what makes them so dangerous! What if her powers were deadly instead of just...just this!" He gestured to all the empty space in the room where he figured his daughter might be. He paced by the mantel, looking at the family pictures resting there. He slammed the ones featuring them with their daughter face down with enough force to crack the glass. "I can't stomach this!"_

_ "Spencer, she told the officers-"_

_ "I KNOW what she told them!" He whirled around, looking for the object of this disunity, and being met with nothingness again, he ground out angrily, "At least let us know where you are."_

_ Olivia had taken to a corner of the sofa, sitting in silence despite that just sitting was causing her abused parts to scream from the torment. Her heart was finally numb, all emotions that had coursed so powerfully through her the day before now frozen like a river in winter, but she still felt the pain. Her body hurt endlessly in places she never dreamed, and her eyes hurt from crying so hard over the past twenty four hours. She heard her parents discussion with an odd sense of detachment, just staring without purpose at a pull in her mothers oriental rug._

_ When her father spoke to her, her voice croaked, "Yes."_

_ He trembled in anger as he clenched his fists. "You told police officers that three of the most respectable young men I know dragged you behind the public library and raped you! Do you realize they may investigate them? What will happen to their families! Josh's father is on the town counsel and a very important political connection for me! Your accusations could devastate any chances I have for my run for a mayor next year! And you're a mutant-" He rubbed his face and turned to face the mantel again, bracing himself against it._

_ Darlene stood, about to move to sit with her daughter when Spencer snapped, "Don't go near her." The woman stopped and obeyed, tears shining in her eyes._

_ "Spencer, she wouldn't make something like this up." She said softly, big brown eyes looking at her husband pleadingly. "How could she possibly make something like that up? I know it may change some things-"_

_ "No Darlene, it changes everything!" He gasped, choking on his own voice. For a moment, Olivia thought that maybe he was feeling some sort of sympathy for her, but when he turned and she saw that stoney coldness in his eyes, she knew the reason. He was upset over loosing a political ally. "I'm calling the police station. I'll have them alter her registry file, and tell them she confessed to making that part up."_

_ "I didn't make it up." She said flatly, unable to muster any emotion._

_ "I don't care if you did or not, you're not going to ruin what I've worked so hard for!" He was bee-lining towards the kitchen, snapping the phone of the receiver and beginning to dial. "Olivia, I want you to pack your bags and be out of this house in an hour."_  
_ Her mother gasped in horror, her eyes instantly flooded with tears. "Spenc-"_

_ "Quiet Darlene! This is final! No lying mutie scum lives under my roof!"_

_ Olivia sat there, stunned by what she had heard. She thought he'd tell her to go to her room until he figured out what to do, not...not this. She looked at her mother, who was bowing her head into her hands and sobbing. _

_ "Mom?" She whispered, her already weak body starting to shake again. No, this couldn't be happening, they would talk about this, Dad was just mad again, right? Her voice cracked with a sob as she begged, "Mom, Please!"_

_ The woman stood, shaking her head and her hands in front of her to warn Olivia back. Crying, she left her daughter in favor of staying with her husband in the kitchen. "Y-you heard your father, get your things."_

_ For several minutes, Olivia just sat there expecting things to change. Her dad would come back in and say he jumped the gun, and maybe she could at least finish up her senior year before relocating to the college in PA she wanted to go to. After all, she had a college fund! She listened to her father speaking to a policemen nonchalantly her visit to their station and apologizing for his daughters 'drama'. Her mother sat at the table in the kitchen, quietly crying as she ripped each of the wallet sized copies of her senior picture in two and threw them in the garbage. _

_ It soon became obvious that the choice was made. She had to get out. In disbelief she staggered up the steps to the upstairs hallway. She didn't go into her bedroom. Instead, she turned to the first door on the left and walked into the bathroom. She needed to shower, if nothing else before she left she had to shower! After her rapists had fled, she'd had no choice but to tug on her soiled clothing or wander invisible and naked to her home. The whole day had been spent in the previous days underwear, which she knew was disgusting from the fluids those boys had pumped into her. Shaking like a leaf, she pulled down jeans. Once they were off and she had let them go on the floor she saw the brownish red bloodstain that ruined the garment completely. She just stared at it. Already in shock, her thumbs dipped into her underwear, and she began to peal the tacky fabric off her skin. She tossed them on top of her jeans. _

_ As fast as she could, she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and wretched, her entire body suddenly desperate to expel anything that was in it. All she could see in her minds eye was the contents of her underwear., and that had been enough to physically recall everything from the previous evening. The smell of dick, the scrape of public hair on her body, the painful invasion into her rear and the merciless pummeling it had endured- Wave after wave of nausea slammed into her with such ferocity that soon there was nothing left to vomit but the desperate bile her body produced._

_ Cold sweat clung to her, and though she was weak from her moment of illness, she knew instinctively she just had to get to the shower. Blindly she groped for the tub, grasping the cold rim and making her way into it. She turned the water on as hot as she could stand it, and grabbed a her soap. She had to get rid of them. Their smell, their semen, every touch they left on her body she was desperate to get rid of! Sitting in the bottom of the tub, she took her loofa and pumped it full of her brown sugar vanilla body wash, and began to scrub. Her arms, her neck, her face, her legs, and especially her groin became the subject of her anxiety fueled cleaning. Her eyes were drawn to the discolored froth swirling the drain, a small rivulet of crimson coming from where she sat. How could so much blood have come out of her? Was that normal after what she had endured? Tenderly, afraid of what she might find, she brought her hand down and touched her anus. She hissed in pain. There was a tear in the skin. _

She blinked her eyes as water ran into them, jostled from the invading memory. The water was much colder now, the hot water heater obviously close to being run dry. She also felt ill. Composing herself, she quickly picked up Logans borrowed shampoo and got to work lathering herself up.

It had happened again. The memories came and went at odd intervals, varying in length and triggered by the oddest things. She'd heard that people had flashbacks before, but usually it was in movies or books. Experiencing them herself was indescribable. She couldn't guess when they'd come and what they'd bring back to the front of her mind or why, but she knew they were a part of her life now.

She turned around and rinsed out her long brown hair, finger combing it as she willed away the images that her memory had conjured. She whispered to herself, 'it's in the past and the past does not control me.' Again and again she repeated it until she felt more resolved.

Olivia turned off the water, and grabbed the towel to rub her face dry.

Hopefully Logan wouldn't ask what took her so long.


	6. Transparent

**I got my first review! Thank you so much Jinxofthe2ndlaw for your kind words, and your bit about retaking the name gave me a giggle! Also, thank you to EquiiGirl for the watch and follow! You guys are awesome!**

Logan waited patiently in the main room, listening to Olivia get ready for her shower with his phone in hand. It wasn't until he heard the water of the shower start to flow that he dialed out to the Professor.

Lifting the phone to his ear, he took a deep breath. This rescue was going places he hadn't expected. He had wanted to just go get her and bring her back to the people who could help her and live out the rest of his weekend as planned. Albeit it'd have to be a bit closer to home but he still had most of Saturday and Sunday to himself which was plenty of time to go for a ride and hit a bar or two. Instead, he found he liked the girl and didn't trust anyone else to get her settled. Olivia needed someone to keep the curious onlookers from staring, to make sure she had privacy and space without having to answer everyone's stupid questions. All the formality could wait until she felt comfortable in her new home, that is, if she chose to stay there.

The receiver picked up on the other end of the phone and Charles Xavier answered, knowing who was on the other end. "How did the retrieval go Logan? I assume well."

The Professors choice of words irked him, but he answered as he plucked one of the beer bottles from the cardboard caddy. "She's safe Chuck. Spooked but safe."

"That's good to hear." Charles replied, a smile obvious in his voice, "Did you tell her about the school?"

"Yeah, mentioned it. I'm pretty sure it's a go but she didn't say specifically if it's what she wanted or not. It's where we'll be headed in the morning though, we've stopped for the night so she can recharge." He popped the metal cap from the mouth of his beer and took a long swig, preparing himself for what he had to say. Sure the old man could just use his powers and know the whole situation but to his relief he chose when and where it was appropriate to do so. This seemed to be one of those times. "Look, I'm gonna be frank. The kids been through a lot and I don't feel right bringing her there and doing the usual song and dance because I think it'll overwhelm her. I'm not saying coddle her, because she's gonna have to toughen up eventually but I think she needs a few days to settle in. Then get down to all the paper work and 20 questions." The silence on the other side of the phone told him that the Professor was absorbing the information. He continued on, "When I got there she was invisible and tied to a chair. She knew I was there to help her but I had to convince her I wasn't going to hurt her. If she's that way with everyone she meets then the school-"

"-Is going to seem large and daunting. I agree." Logan could almost see in his minds eye the professors brow wrinkling in contemplation. "Discretion is in order until we can ascertain how she will adapt."

"Yeah, another thing about adapting. The kid can't be out at sunset. Something about it triggers her mutation and forces her to become invisible, and it hurts her. We need to board up the window in whatever room we put her in."

Fascination saturated the Professors voice as he spoke. "Invisibility triggered by the waning of light? That is indeed interesting. Can she change back at will?"

"Not if she's out at sunset apparently. She has to see the sun rise in order to turn back."

He heard the finger falls of typing on the other end of the phone, and he chuckled as he realized his friend was taking notes.

"What about at other times," He pressed further, "Can she turn back and forth at will?"

"Yeah, with some effort." There was more typing and he took a moment to drain more beer from his bottle.

"Does any other light effect her this way?"

Logan snorted, "How the hell should I know?"

"Just from what you've seen Logan."

He shrugged and grunted, "Naw, just sunlight."

More typing.

"Look, she's in the bathroom getting cleaned up and I'm expecting some food to be delivered. I should be there with her mid afternoon tomorrow."

"Thank you for checking in Logan. We'll make the necessary preparations for her on this end and we'll be waiting."

"Right, bye." He hung up, glad to have that over with. At least they knew what to expect of her and she wouldn't be bombarded when she got there. Hopefully that meant she could get some rest and recuperate some before they got her into training and life in general.

He listened, the shower still running and no real signs of movement coming from behind the closed door. A part of him wanted to ask her if she was okay, but a larger part won over that just wanted to give the girl some privacy and time to herself.

There was a knock on the door, and he tossed his phone down to go get the food he knew was there. Doug was waiting, balancing a cardboard box of pizza and a styrofoam case of wings in one hand and holding a bottle of cola in the other.

"Here ya go man." He said, handing it over. "I'll just put it on your bill for check out tomorrow.

Logan nodded and took it, placing it on the lone chair in the room. "Thanks."

Doug loitered a moment, staring curiously at the closed shower door with a risen brow. "So you do have company?"

"Yup." Logan grunted in reply.

The other man looked confused and a touch stressed, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and pulling a book of matches from the other. ""I didn't see anyone else come in after you, never mind come up here after you." He struck it, puffing until the end lit with embers. "Weird shit happens when you come visiting Logan. Every damn time."

Logan seemed unconcerned. "You mind your manners when we come down in the morning, bub. She's in a bad place and I'm helpin' her out."

After a moment of dragging on his cig, he blew a stream of smoke in thought. "Mutant like you then?"

"Yup, younger though. I'm on my way to taking her some place safe."

"The school?" He asked, taking a very long greedy pull from his tobacco.

"Yup."

"Fair enough." Doug blunted his cigarette into the door frame and brushed at the small burn mark it left. "I guess the extra bed makes sense now. Best I can do is some extra bedding."

"Which would be good sense it looks like I'll be takin the floor." Logan peered over his bottle at Doug as he finished his beer.

"How chivilrous!" He teased walking to the room across the hall.

He stripped the bed of its pillows and linens and dragged them out to where Logan stood. They exchanged the blankets and Logan turned back into the room to arrange them on the floor beside the bed. He didn't relish the idea of sleeping on this matted old carpet. He knew the kind of filth that ended up there and worse he'd even contributed to it, but the idea of Olivia having to take it bothered him far more. That kid deserved better after what she'd been through.

"Hey, couldn't help but notice that the latch to the restrooms broken. cleaved in two actually." Doug stroked his mustache with a smirk. "You wouldn't know anything about that now?"

"Not a thing." Logan said, dropping his pillow into place. It was hard to keep himself from grinning though.

"I'll just add that to your bill too then. If you need anything else, let me know."

"Yeah, hold on." Logan cracked the bathroom door, picked up Olivias dirty clothes, and handed them over to him. "Get these washed for me. I'll give you a twenty."

"Deal!"

The two men shook hands and parted, the door closing behind Logan as he shut himself and his ward inside the privacy of the room. He latched the lock behind them to make doubly sure that they wouldn't be disturbed.

Olivia was still in the shower though, and the steam that had seeped from the cracks of the door had gone from billowy to non existent, indicating it had gotten cold. He frowned, and was about to knock on the door when he heard her stirring inside with the smell of shampoo filling the air. He backed off, walking back to the bed with the pizza and wings in hand.

As he opened them up, situating the box of wings on the open lid of the pizza box, he let his mind wander to other things, particularly why Sinister had wanted Olivia of all people. She was gentle, nonthreatening, and generally cautious of the world around her, hardly the super powered mutants Sinister typically would have interest in. He was obsessed with superior genetics, with taking samples from as many as he could, and disturbingly enough, wiping out mutants he felt to be inferior and refuse. Olivia fell into neither category, easily overlookable, and not just because of her ironic power. It bothered him now that he had spent more time with her because nothing was adding up.

The bathroom door opening closed the book on those thoughts for now and he listened to Twilights soft footfalls. The smell of brown sugar and vanilla that he had associated with her was gone, and his mouth twitched, not sure how to feel about it. That is, until she sat down on the bed next to him and he got a strong nose full of what she smelled like now.

She smelled like soap.

His soap.

The mix of her scent and his own caused a reaction in his body he hadn't expected. No, it was not the mix of two peoples natural scents, but rather, her own natural aroma and a smell he associated with himself. The animal inside him lurched against the steal bars of his will, aroused by the mark he had inadvertently put on her. He breathed it deeply, the animal needing to indulge in it for a moment. He hadn't thought of her this way until now. She was too young and too fragile for a man who was as aged and rough as he was. It was like keeping a tea set in a rhinos pen, it was just a bad idea, but now the thought was put in his mind and it was going to take a little bit of doing to get it out. He pushed the feral beast back forcibly, putting the purely instinctual creature away in favor of the more sensible man he struggled to be.

He needed another beer.

As he reached for it, Olivia spoke, breaking the silence. "Are you alright?"

Peachy, his mind quipped sarcastically, but he answered, "Fine, why?"

"You growled."

_Damn!_ "Did I?"

There was a little laugh from her, and some of the tension eased out of his body at the sound. Funny, "Yes, you most certainly did. Right here." She brushed a finger against his upper chest bellow his collar bone. It was such innocent contact, she couldn't possibly know that she was encouraging a beast.

"Must be hungry then." He reasoned, thinking the excuse was plausible enough to end that part of the conversation.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know." She confessed, shifting beside him. A slice of pizza moved away from the others and disappeared as she picked it up. That first bite was heaven, and she took her time chewing it. She still felt a bit uneasy from her flashback, but it was not so bad she could refuse a meal after having gone so long hungry. She just had to remember to take her time so that her stomach could become accustomed to being full again.

"I had a phone call to make anyway." He grabbed a slice for himself, taking huge bites between swigs of beer. "I called Charles Xavier, the guy who runs the school I told you about. He said he'd have a room ready for you when we get there tomorrow, if that's what you want."

Her gaze privately looked him over, a smile on her lips despite him being unable to see it. "If that's where you'll be, it'd be hard for you to look out for me if I were elsewhere."

"Guess so." He chuckled, "It's only fair to warn you, Liv, the training there is tough. You have to be dedicated to bettering yourself as a mutant and as a person. It's not some elitist mutant supremacy club, we're there to learn to live peacefully with the rest of human kind."

"Trust me, it's better than where I've been." And that was the truth, she knew sadly. "It may take a little getting used to though. I've been hiding from people sense I mutated. It'll be strange to have to be around them again."

"You can do it." He said with such certainty she couldn't help but feel a bit optimistic. "I'm not gonna let you hide."

"Not even sometimes?" She asked.

"Not even sometimes."

"I thought you were going to help me?" She pouted, half playfully.

His gaze slid darkly to where he knew she sat, and he couldn't have known it, but their eyes locked. Her breath caught.

"Hiding isn't going to help you," He said with gentle firmness, "-so I'm not going to let you."

Something about that statement charged the air between them. It was said with more than concern for her emotional health and personal well being. When he'd said he'd help her, she thought maybe he'd meant to protect her and that was what she wanted, but now, she realized he planned on doing much more than that.

He wasn't going to be her shield. He was going to teach her to be her own shield.

They continued to eat, some light talk about the school and what to expect resulting in an easy going conversation that led from one thing to the next. From the school, came talk of Charles Xavier, from there came talk of the X-men, which led to him being a member. Then the conversation turned more personal.

Finished with her food, Olivia leaned back against the headboard of the bed, full for the first time in months but oddly not sleepy. Her mind was swimming with everything Logan had told her.

"So," her voice came in concern, "Even now, you still don't know everything that happened to you?"

Logan was on his fourth beer, amazed that he was telling her all of this. He ran his fingers through his wild hair and shrugged. "It comes and goes in pieces. I have dreams-well, no, I have nightmares about it. There's a tank, water, I'm submerged and hooked up to all sorts of weird stuff. And then I feel this world ending pain spreading, like nothing else I've ever experienced-" She noticed a small wince in his facial features as he stared at his beer, or rather, the hand wrapped around the beer and the weapons beneath. He muttered somberly, "The mind forgets. The body doesn't seem to."

The truth of those words struck Olivia with the force of lightning. She reached over towards him, her soft tentative touch grazing his knuckles before her hand closed around his. It was but a small embrace, but she hoped it conveyed what she needed it to.

Feeling wetness on her lashes, she spoke, "Logan, I don't know what you went through," she began, "I can't claim to, but in my own way I get it."

He didn't mean to, but a sarcastic chuckle rumbled his chest, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She spoke with such certainty he stopped and listened. "It's not the same, I wasn't tortured and experimented on, but ... people did something to me that I didn't want that hurt me too. What you said, that the body remembers, Logan it's so true it makes my entire body hurt sometimes."

Well shit, he'd spoken without thinking again. His mouth was quicker than his head yet again and he had to reel himself in to fix it. She had tried to show him empathy and he'd scoffed at her!

"Kid-" He began apologetically, but instantly realized in that moment that the word 'kid' hardly suited her. Yeah, she was young, but she'd been through more at her tender age than many. He started again, turning his hand over and returning that small embrace. "Liv." The correction wasn't lost on her, and the sudden shift made her smile as he went on. "It's not so different. Somethin' bad happened and the mind deals with it the best it can."

She squeezed his roughened hand, and confessed quietly, "In the bathroom, when I was showering, it happened." She closed her eyes as Logans hand tightened on hers, trying not to get emotional. "I was just wondering about the last time I showered, and it happened. It was when I came home from the police station and my dad threw me out. I took a shower before I left because I was still in all my clothes from when they took me and- and all the blood-"

She couldn't go on, and she didn't have to. Logan knew where she was going and it wasn't a pretty place to be. As she began to break down and cries began to quake her body Logan sheltered her under one of his strong unbreakable arms, gathering her safely into his side. His own anger for her attackers aside, and it was a growing steadily the more time he spent with her, but for now he had to take care of her.

"It's still fresh right now." His gravely voice soothed, making her turn into his side and seek comfort from the only friend she had. He rested his chin on her head, the wetness from the shower damp against his throat. "It'll get easier, I promise, and you'll get to a place where you can cope with it and conquer it, but for right now Liv," His voice got softer and the tone made her heart melt, "You're safe and you're not alone ... so just let it out."

Olivia, on her first night on her own, had tried to stifle her tears while sitting alone on a bus bench. She had cried on many other occasions, all by herself, and usually while trying to be as quiet as possible. Had she ever really cried the misery out the way she needed? Could it really be so simple? No, crying wouldn't heal the wounds she was nursing, but she needed to allow herself to have the release of tears, and for once, not worry about trying to be quiet and unseen.

Her chest shuddered, her face lowering as she whimpered through the beginning of her tears, "I don't understand why they did this to me, Logan, I never hurt anyone, I never got in trouble or was mean to anyone!"

An uncomfortable pressure seized his chest, and his other arm joined the other around her, pulling her a bit closer. It was a good question. How could anyone want to hurt her?

"You didn't do anything wrong Liv." He said firmly so that there was no mistake, "There's something wrong with them, not you."

But she still cried, and all he could do was let her do it in the safety of his arms. He could see glimpses of his past in his minds eye, carrying a gun and living the life of a soldier. The uniform would change, and the cold steal in his hands would as well and the scenery could be anywhere from lush dark forests, plains of grass, to deserts of swirling sand. No matter the time and no matter the occasion, one thing the Wolverine knew how to do was fight! He wasn't meant to be nice, he wasn't meant to be gentle; he was a beast and an animal and he'd acquired a taste for blood! He could tear down anyone or anything in his path once he got a foothold, but for all of his strength and experience he was utterly helpless to help the sobbing girl against him.

He stared up at the ceiling and rubbed his hand up and down her trembling back. He'd have to train her. Not just making sure she ran the mile every day or showed up for danger room sessions like he had to with the other students, but literally take her and mold her so that no one would ever be able to hurt her again. She might come to hate how hard he'd be on her, but it was a chance worth taking.

Time passed, and her crying grew softer. She had exhausted herself thoroughly and lay limply against his side, breathing shallowly. His hand never stilled, and he kept rubbing comforting circles between her shoulder blades.

Satisfied she had calmed enough, he moved her a little so he could reach for a beer, and after snapping the cap off on his belt buckle he held it out to her. She stared at it dumbly.

"I'm 18 Logan," She whispered tiredly. "I have a couple years to go."

"Are you saying you don't want it?"

She paused, looking at the amber liquid with curiosity. "No, I didn't."

"I'm not your Dad, Liv. Take the beer. You've earned one."

She grinned and straightened up under the weight of his arm, and took it.

He slipped off the bed and picked up the pizza box and wings, putting the left overs on the chair again. As he did, she took her first taste. It fizzed like soda, but it was bitter. She held it in her mouth a second longer than she had to before swallowing. IT tickled going down. It wasn't unpleasant, she decided. She took another, longer, drink.

"Well?" he asked, getting down onto the make shift bed on the floor.

She nodded to herself with a grin. "I like it."

"Good. Finish it up. If this is your first taste of the stuff just the one will calm you down enough to get a good nights sleep."

The matress she was on creaked as she moved to the edge, and he felt the sensation of her watching him lay down on the floor. "Never seen a guy take the floor for a lady, Liv?"

There was no answer, not at first, and Logan began to wonder what she could possibly be thinking.

"Logan," She said at last, "I don't feel right about this. I know you're just being a gentleman but I trust you."

She wouldn't if she had known how the more feral part of his personality had reacted to her earlier he decided.

"I'm fine down here," He assured, putting his head on the pillow. "You just finish your beer and get some sleep."

"Logan..."

The way she murmured his name made a warmth spread in his chest. He couldn't see her, but he still looked up to where he estimated her to be on the bed.

"Yeah?"

"I trust you." She repeated in that same warm voice that made the fine hairs on his neck bristle pleasantly. "Please don't sleep on the floor."

It was a bad idea, he knew that from the get go, but he found that he just couldn't deny such an entreaty. She moved over on the mattress to make room, the provided pillow sliding over as Logan tossed his own into place.

"You sure?" He double checked. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

Olivias empty beer bottle clattered to the floor, and he felt her arm curl around his waist. His heart began to beat a little harder. Ho boy, he had to nip this in the bud!

"Whoa now, maybe that beer did more than I thought it did." He took her wrists, guiding them off him.

"I'm not drunk." She assured him, sounding a little hurt that he'd assert that. "I'm sorry, I just haven't felt anyone close to me in a long time. I've missed it."

"Yeah, well I'm a full grown red blooded, testosterone full man and I respond to the wandering touches of pretty girls." He grinned, hoping that it'd put her at ease. He swore he felt the heat from her blush from there! "I'll stay if it'll make you feel better but cuddling isn't the best idea darlin."

Darlin.

She swallowed, feeling the warmth from her face spread through every inch of her body. Logan calling her that may have been the sweetest sound she had ever heard. Sweeter than the perfect pitch of her maestros voice, warmer than a bon fire, and more refreshing than a swim in summer. Her head hit her pillow and she gazed at him, glad that he couldn't see the kind of affection she was sure was glowing in her eyes now.

"Alright big guy. I'll try to keep your comfort in mind."

He smirked. "Big guy?"

"A girl can only hope."

_Whoa, bold!_ Oh but he loved this glimmer of spunk in her!

He scooted a little closer and lifted his arm. "Alright, so maybe just a little won't be such a bad thing?"

She rolled into his grasp, and he scooped her back into his chest and tucked her head under his chin. She sighed pleasantly, and he took one more experimental sniff of her hair. It was cozy. Against his better judgement, for certain, but very cozy.

"Gnight Liv." He rumbled gruffly, already feeling drowsy.

Basking in the safe nook of his arm, she whispered, "Goodnight Logan."

**I hope I'm keeping you guys entertained! See you next time :)**


	7. In Plain Sight

**I was delighted to get some more reviews recently, so extra special thanks to Jinxofthe2ndClaw and the wonderful demonsimon!**

**Demonsimon, I am glad to tell you in this chapter you get your wish to see Olivia confront Logan on some of his past actions! Thank you so much for the depth and thought you put in to your reviews, they helped me out a great deal! Also, there will be ample opportunity for further violence in later chapters! For the time being, Logan needs to get Olivia to her new home!**

**Jinxofthe2ndClaw, Mantras are important indeed for trauma survivors. Olivia will be saying this one on many occasions, I promise you! I'm glad you like how I'm depicting her reactions to her trauma.**

Early morning came too soon, the gentle glimmers of returning light from the dawn filtering through the dirty window and onto the sleeping pair. The skies were clear, the air still and refreshing, scented strongly of pine needles and dew. The loud noises of the bar below were gone now. The patrons had stumbled home, the jukebox turned off, and the staff quietly wrapping things up after a long night. Now, the only sounds were those of nature, birds singing in the trees and the cicadas chirping their warning of a hot summer day.

Logan hated sleeping on the east side of buildings for just this reason. The early morning sun always seemed to land on his face and rouse him before he was ready, and as much as he loved nature it was too damn noisy sometimes. This morning seemed to be no exception, and he greeted the disruption with a chesty growl. He shifted and shielded his eyes with his forearm. At least this was more peaceful than a morning in the city. He'd take birds and bugs over car horns and police sirens any day.

"Damn sun..." he muttered, daring to peak and see if there were blinds he could draw to block out the offending rays, but his eyes fell instead on the slumbering girl next to him.

Olivia was still deeply asleep, but the sun falling across her was making her reappearing skin shimmer subtly. Logan sat up on his forearm and looked down at her. She was slightly curled with her head bowed, her smaller body swimming in his large tshirt. Her messy brown hair was cast around her haphazardly and strewn over her face. He hesitated a moment before giving in to the impulse to brush the locks away from her face. The light hit her cheek, and the skin there instantly glimmered as well, saturating every exposed inch. Seconds passed and then minutes, and he noticed that the odd shine was starting to fade despite her body looking very solid once more. He could only guess it was just something that happened when she reverted back in the mornings. He smiled gently. She looked so peaceful, which was a relief given how rocky things had been for her. It was nice to see her relaxed. In fact, right now she looked downright angelic!

That image was perfectly shattered as she rolled onto her back, her mouth opening wide with an unlady like snore. Also from this angle the drool on her chin was pretty obvious too.

Logan shook his head, chuckling to himself. At least she was resting.

He took the opportunity to shower and change into a fresh set of clothes, deciding he should let her sleep as long as possible. They had a six hour drive ahead of them and that'd be hard to do if she was still tired.

He didn't take his time, more interested in getting on the road then doing a thorough job. A quick shampoo would do the job, rubbing the excess over the hard plains and muscular ridges of his body. As he let the spray of the shower rinse the soap away, he rubbed his face with his hand. It felt like the stubble was getting thick. A quick shave before breakfast then.

He stepped out of the shower, lightly toweling off before he tugged his boxers and jeans on. Without his belt, the denim hung a bit lower on his hips than he was used to. He he bunched up his towel to wipe the condensation off the bathroom mirror, but in the lingering humidity from his shower it fogged over again almost instantly. Figures. He opened the bathroom door to let cooler, dryer air in and was surprised to see Olivia standing there. She looked drowsy and rumpled, and not yet awake with a slice of left over pizza in hand. She was chewing idly and rubbing some of the sleep from her eyes when she saw him.

Now Logan wasn't oblivious to how women reacted to him. He was active, strong, and his body showed it in a way that women really appreciated. It made getting his occasional fix of sex pretty easy too. That being said, he also didn't put a lot of thought or presentation into his appearance. He dressed as simply as he could, making sure his clothes were clean, but that was about it. His side burns had overgrown, his hair wasn't neat, and his jeans tended to rip in the knees. Did that keep womens eyes from straying to him? Apparently not. He didn't try to get their attention, but it happened.

Much like Olivia's attention was stuck on him now. It was actually kind of comical, with her jaw hanging open with half chewed pizza and her wide purple gaze taking him in as though she'd never seen a shirtless man before. Well, maybe she hadn't, which was possible judging from the spreading redness in her face.

Feeling foolish and too embarrassed to make eye contact, Olivia looked away and swallowed her half chewed bite of pizza s and dropped the remainder of the slice back in the box. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from looking back at him.

"Sorry!" She squeaked uncomfortably. "I didn't mean to stare!"

Taking pity on her, he reached for his clean t-shirt and pulled it over his head, pulling his dog tags out with a tiny jingle.  
"There Saint Mary, I'm decent." He teased at her expense, finding that he was smirking at her bashfulness.

Her hand lowered, but the color in her face remained. Timidly, her eyes swept up to his, her head bowed a bit to try and hide behind a curtain of hair. "That's not fair Logan, I'm not a prude, I'm just... I mean I'm-" She was stammering, and that just made her feel even more self conscious. God, looking up to see him standing there like that, with his big arms and his chiseled chest and that intriguing dusting of hair disappearing past the button of his pants- Oh god she was burning up! "Okay so maybe I'm just not used to seeing men with six packs walking around! My Dad had a keg."

Logan laughed, grabbing his shaving cream from his toiletries and depressing the button. The smell of nivea met his nose, which grew only stronger as he brought the foam to the parts of his face that needed shaving. Once coated, a claw sprung out of his right hand and he got to work, scraping the hair off of his skin with perfect skill.

Now she was watching for another reason, following along with every stroke the blade made and the smooth and bare skin left in it's wake. Logans claws were a part of him, and he used them shamelessly as an extension of himself like she might use her own two hands. She leaned in the frame of the door, her expression private and thoughtful.

"Penny for your thoughts, Liv?" He asked, wiping the frothy claw on a hand towel before doing another segment.

She made a soft sound of contentment, pink lips forming a smile. "Watching you do this gives me hope. Maybe one day my powers will be as much a part of me that I can use them as comfortably as you use your claws."

"It comes with practice." He agreed. "I save a lot of cash on razors, that's for sure."

"They look really sharp." She watched as he swiped the claw over his adams apple and jugular. Those same claws only yesterday had taken the head off of a monster, and now he handled them with the precision of an artist. Artistic in nature herself, she appreciated the dexterity he displayed. "Do you ever make a mistake? Cut your face or anything else?"

"Not recently." He paused, looking down at the gleaming metal splattered with shaved hair and soap. He couldn't remember completely, but he knew that his claws hadn't always been metal, and the bone ones couldn't be used like this. "I used em' every day, cuttin wood, shaving, hunting, you name it." He took a few more well placed swipes on his face before wiping the claw one last time.  
She quietly spoke, taking a step closer "Can I see them?"

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her suspiciously. Was she serious? Yeah people had asked about them before. He remembered Rogue's sympathetic question, asking him if they hurt when they came out. He'd said 'every time' and that was still true today. But no one had wanted to see them up close before now. He assumed most people had a healthy respect for them and what they could do, knowing better than to want to inspect them for themselves. His deep coal eyes met hers steadily, searching the warm violet depths and seeing only innocent sincerity. He dried his face from his shave, dropped the towel into the sink, and held out his fist, slowly easing the claws from their hiding place.

"Be careful, they're sharp." He warned, keeping perfectly still.

She came forward without reservation, her hands taking his and bringing the weapon close to her face for inspection with such blind trust it made his breath freeze in his lungs. There was no fear as she touched the back of his hand, pressing her fingertips to his knuckles and into the hallows between them. She stroked where the metal split the skin, where flesh and claw met, sucking her lower lip between her teeth as she realized that his skin had to break and heal every time the blades came out.

"Oh Logan..." She whispered sadly, touching the blunt edges, surprised to find the metal was quite warm. "I didn't know they hurt you."

A gentle smile twitched onto his lips, regarding Twilight with new respect. When they met the day before he'd known her to be timid, cautious, and scared. Now, he saw more. He didn't have to tell her that they hurt him, she discerned that for herself, and felt empathy. Just like last night when he had told her about his nightmares, she had responded emotionally. Olivia was an instinctive feeler, and on that level, he might say he understood her well. His instincts guided him, and it seemed hers did the same.

"It's not so bad." He assured her quietly, not wanting to break the spell she had put him under. "I've gotten used to it.

"No one should have to get used to being in pain." She replied sadly. Thinking that Logan had braved that pain to battle that- that thing that had guarded her at the warehouse- made her feel guilty. "I'm so sorry, Logan..." And bringing his hand to her lips she placed a kiss to his split skin, lingering there against the flesh and metal for a few long seconds.

The gesture caught him off guard, goosebumps breeding across every inch of skin and giving him some very enjoyable chills. All that just from one well placed kiss from this slip of a girl. He felt the tell tale stirring of desire within him, but not from the inner beast as he had expected. For once, the animal was placid, appeased by the affection Olivia had offered. He withdrew his claws back into his forearm and turned his palm over to catch her hand. "You're a good person Olivia." He said with a soft rumble as he dipped his face to kiss her wrist, "Don't change."

A breath whispered through her lips slowly, her lungs deflating as she felt Logans mouth, however briefly, against that sensitive skin. Her heart skipped a beat, her stomach fluttered, along with every other girlish sensation that she thought she'd outgrown. She hadn't felt like this since her freshman year when her Maestro had come to her with a dozen red roses and asked her to study as his protege. This moment was different though. It wasn't a gesture of roses or the honor to study her beloved art, but a caress of skin against skin. Olivia had yet to receive her first real kiss and with Logan standing so there with his lips against the pulse of her wrist she realized how close this was to being just that! Overwhelmed by feelings, her body shyly grew transparent.

Logan flicked her nose suddenly. "None of that, Liv. I'd like to have breakfast with a human being, not a ghost."

"R-right." She stuttered, closing her eyes and concentrating. It had really snuck up on her this time, and surprisingly, it had felt like a tingle and not a burn! Of course, forcing herself to come back brought the scalding discomfort back into her limbs, but a few moments later she was solid again.

"I gave Doug your clothes last night to get cleaned. They're in a grocery bag on the doorknob." He said as he sat down on the toilet lid and pulled on his socks.

Olivia looked at the door, and not seeing them there, opened it up and sure enough the price chopper grocery bag dangled on the other side. She picked the bag up and shifted through her things, enjoying the clean scent of fabric softener.

"Thanks Logan, I was wondering if I was going to wear your PJ's on the ride today."

Logan exited the bathroom, done with his morning routine and let Olivia in after him to change.

She shut the door behind her and shifted through the bag until she found her underwear. Yes, she had opted out of putting a dirty pair back on after her shower the previous night and had gone bare back in Logans PJ's. What the big guy didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right? It took no effort to undress. Simply untying the drawstring of the bottoms had them pooling around her ankles, and the tshirt joined it on the floor a second later. She slipped the black cotton panties on, followed by her worn and torn jeans that fit just right. The bra went on next, the her black camisole and then her purple lace tank top. She looked at herself in the mirror. She wished she had a little make up, she always felt better with a little mascara and a touch of eyeliner. Of course, running a brush through her hair would have been nice too, but all those things were back in her bag which had been left behind when she'd been abducted. She sighed and bent over to pick up Logans clothes, and meticulously folded them up. When she was done, not a wrinkle was in them and they looked they hadn't been worn at all. She exited the bathroom.

"Thank you for letting me borrow these. I folded them up for you."

Logan was standing over his open duffel bag and packing his things up when she handed him the pajamas. Without much thought he took the garments, noting how neatly they were folded compared to everything else in the bag which he had opted to just roll up into a sloppy ball. It was then the scent hit his nose, and his nostrils flared greedily to take it in. He knew that smell. It was the musk of a womans, or rather, Olivias-

"Well damn Liv, you didn't wear underwear last night?" He blurted out tactlessly.

Turning red as a cherry Olivia stood dumbly at being caught, though how was a mystery!

"I ... I mean, mine were ... and-" Oh God this was hopeless! She was never going to stop blushing! "Mine were dirty."

Logan groaned to himself, unable to shake the scent now that it was in his nose. The beast within paced anxiously, roused and eager to further sample the woman the smell belonged to. _Dammit no, she's just a kid, you can't react this way to a kid!_ The beast argued,_ that doesn't smell like a child, it smells like fair game._ Dammit he had to get a handle on himself! He took a deep breath and shook his head swiftly to rid the thoughts from his head.

"I didn't mean to blurt that out Liv, I've just got a very sensitive nose." He tapped it for emphasis and glanced at her, and groaned all over again at seeing her vanishing in embarrassment. Well shit! "Come on, Liv, we've been through this, no ghosting around if you can help it."

"I can't help it." She muttered, hiding behind her hands. "God, I didn't think that you'd know."

"I've got this nose Liv, it can just tell." He explained. "You didn't do anything wrong, alright?"

"I know I didn't," She exclaimed, surprising Logan with her confidence, "I just didn't expect to be called out on it!"

He put the clothes in the bag and zipped it up, straightening and dragging his fingers through his hair. Again, he'd spoken without thinking.

"Can we just, you know, move on and forget about this?" She begged, struggling with herself to become visible again.

He nodded. "Sounds good." He watched her struggling to reappear. He'd have to be careful about embarrassing her if she was going to flicker out each time it happened.

"So does coffee, and I think you owe me one after this."

"Deal."

They made their way downstairs, and once in the main bar Olivia noticed how different the ambiance was during the day. The lung choking fog of cigarette smoke had cleared out, thought the smell hung there heavily, and with the morning sun shining through the windows the place looked more like a cabin than a dive. The waitress from the night before was sweeping the floors, and Doug was sitting with a mug of coffee in an empty booth, pouring over the morning paper. A tv on the bar was on, the morning news forecasting the weather for the day.

Logan picked a booth and sat down, dropping his bag beside him. Olivia sat across from him. Almost immediately, Laura was there with her notepad out. Her curled red hair was falling out from a long night of working and her lipstick had long sinse worn away. Her eyes settled on Olivia curiously, then darted to Logan as her brow lowered.

Logan seemed to know what the problem was, and he smirked at Laura.

"Jealous?"

She put a hand on her hip and shook her head, sticking out her impressively endowed chest. "All of this, jealous of that?" She pointed to Olivia, making her shrink back a little uncomfortably. "Not likely Logan."

"You were jealous of Jeanette the last time, too ya know."

"No I wasn't." She denied, wrinkling her freckled nose in offense.

Doug wandered over with his coffee and paper. "You're jealous Laura, all your denying isn't helping you. Go to the kitchen and get the pot of coffee and unbunch your panties while you're back there."

Laura turned on her heals, snapping, "Fuck you Dad!"

Olivia winced at the bad language. She would have never dared to use that tone with her own father, never mind use that sort of word! Yes, her father was a strict disciplinarian, but they had been avid church goers. Her faith in the word had made her obey the scripture about honoring your father and mother for fear of loosing her Gods favor. Even when her father had thrown her out, she had tried to remember those words and never spoke disgustingly of the man who had given her life.

Laura obviously lived by a different set of morals than she did.

Logan, seeing Olivias startled expression, barked after the girl sternly, "Watch your mouth, not everyone here like's your kind of language!"

Snidely, she called from the kitchen, "I'll say whatever the fuck I want you hypocrite! Don't act like you don't swear like a sailor!"

Her father called out after her this time. "Logan meant his company Laura, she's obviously classier than you're used to! Now mind your manners!"

Logan took the newspaper from Doug as he scooted a chair over from a nearby table to join them.

"You need to put a leash on that girl." Logan growled as he perused the headlines.

Doug down the last gulp of his coffee and muttered, "She's chewed through too many, it's not worth it anymore. She is who she is until she decides to improve herself."

Logan glanced at Olivia apologetically. "You okay, darlin?"

Saying that sweet word to her again soothed her prickled nerves, and she managed a smile and a little nod.

"Quiet one, huh?" Doug asked.

Logan nodded, "At least around new people. Don't be rude bub, introduce yourself."

Doug held out his hand to her, "My names Douglas, ma'am. Sorry about my daughter, she's been pretty moody lately but she's a nice girl once you get to know her."

It took her a few seconds to decide to accept the gesture, but Olivia did eventually reach out and shake his hand. "Olivia." She replied kindly. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"My pleasure." He grasped her hand and shook it enthusiastically. "You're welcome here any time."

Logan nodded and gestured to his friend with the corner of the paper. "Dougs a mutant sympathizer, Liv."

Doug nodded with a chuckle. "It pays to be, especially when you come around!"

Olivia blinked in confusion. "Is Logan that good a customer?"

Logan shot him a warning glance, but the gesture was ignored, "Sure he is, but you should see him in the cage!"

Cage? she thought in shock. Come to think of it, hadn't she heard that mentioned last night?

"What's a cage match?" she asked, Laura returning with the coffee and a rather large chip on her shoulder.

She put the mugs down on the table and filled them up, "You slept with Logan and don't know about his cage matches?"

Olivia bowed her head, hiding behind her hair at the accusation. "W-we didn't-"

"Of course you didn't," Doug barked, turning to his daughter. "Will you get your mind out of the gutter girl! Logans taking her down to that school in Westchester for mutants."

At first, Laura looked shocked, but then a smug smile graced her lips, "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I should have known that!" Her steely gaze looked Olivia up and down disparagingly, the unsaid accusation striking Olivia hard. She wasn't worthy of Logan in her eyes.

The men obviously thought it was a sincere apology and began drinking their coffee. Olivia just looked down into the murky water in her mug, feeling small. She picked up her spoon and measured a scoop of sugar out of the shaker before adding a splash of cream. Stirring, she just hid behind her hair and drank.

Looking satisfied, Laura said, "Do you know what you want for breakfast?"

Doug stood, "I'm going to make you two some steak and eggs. How's that sound?"

Logan glanced to her, "Liv? What do you think?"

"Sounds like heaven!" Olivia said, looking up at the man with a smile.

"Alright, I'll be back then! Laura, you're going to leave these two alone for the rest of the morning." He took his daughter by the arm and led her way, their voices hushed as they argued as only a father and daughter could.

As they retreated, Olivia sipped her coffee. "I asked a question Logan."

He pretended to be absorbed in the news paper. The last thing he wanted to talk to Olivia about was his cage fights. Her sensibilities were of a classical nature, and he doubted they'd understand his need for violence.

"Logan?" she said again.

"Hmm?"

"What is a cage match?" Her voice was firmer now, concern in her voice.

He could feel those warm violet orbs burrowing into him with their naive curiosity. He took a breath of agitation and answered as simply as possible. "It's when two people get in a cage together and fight until only one is left standing. There's a lot of gambling involved."

Even without directly looking at her, he could see her startled expression. Damn, why did it bother him that she disapproved?

Slowly, she asked "You fight people in a cage?"

"Yeah, I do." He admitted.

"For money?"

"That's right."

"But you heal, Logan." She pieced together. "Isn't that dishonest?"

He shrugged, downing his coffee and pouring himself more to try and distract himself from the discomfort of the conversation. "Only if people find out."

"Do they find out?" she pried.

"Sometimes."

"Then what happens?"

He took another drink of coffee. "People get angry. Then I get angry."

Afraid of what he might say, she choked out, "And people get hurt?"

There was silence. Thick potent silence. He nodded.

She sank back into her seat, staring at him. He was aware that her whole perception of him was now blown wide open, her savior and protector now reduced to a savage thug. It shouldn't bother him. He knew what he was and he didn't pretend to be anything different, but he saw her crestfallen expression and couldn't help the firm prick that stabbed his conscience.

"Don't look at me like that." He said abrasively, dropping the paper into his lap. "I didn't hear you complaining when I slaughtered that thing back at the warehouse!" He growled accusingly, "I'm good at what I do Olivia, and what I do isn't for polite company. It's not nice!"

"I don't believe you." she whispered in sad defiance, her eyes a bit moist as she stared him down.

"No?" He asked darkly, a growl rumbling animalistically in his chest, challenging her statement.

"No, I don't." She closed her eyes, trying to put all of this in order inside of her. "You saved my life Logan. That's something a nice guy does. You took me here, fed me and made me feel safe. That's what nice people do!" She looked away, sniffing back some tears that threatened her eyes. "I don't care what you say Logan. You are a nice guy."

"Nice guys don't do what I do, Liv." He argued, looking out the window with a scowl. His mood was fouled, and he suddenly wished he was alone so that he could leave and hop on that bike.

"I don't agree with the cage fighting Logan. It's brutal and dishonest." She said quietly. "But I don't have to agree, your life is yours to live. I don't have to like everything you do."

Logan should have been glad to hear that, but he wasn't. "You're still disappointed." He stated, tossing the newspaper on the empty spot next to him.

"Yeah." She admitted, and truth be told, she really was, "I am disappointed, but it doesn't change the other things that I know about you. I guess I'm just old fashioned."

"How so?"

"I dunno." She sighed, honestly looking over the table to the brooding Wolverine. "No sex before marriage, love your neighbor, obey the law, that sort of thing."

"You're one of a dying breed Liv." He said with a shrug. NO sex before marriage sounded particularly awful in his ears.

She laughed a little, nodding. "Yeah, I guess I am. Can you forgive me for that?"

"If you can forgive my less than savory behavior." He lifted his mug towards hers, and with a smile, she clinked them together in acceptance.

"To being who you are, and trying to embrace our differences." She declared, but then paused and asked. "Is this a bad time to bring up this 'Jeanette'?"

"Yes." He scowled, still managing a smile as he drank to their toast.

His answer told her all she needed to know. As Doug brought their plates and sat them down in front of them, she tried to piece all she knew about Logan together. Last night he had told her about Xaviers school, and how this year he had decided to stay as full time instructor in PE self defense and other training activities. Before that however, he had been a wanderer. He had vague memories of his past but a giant blank spot, within which his skeleton had been coated with adamantium and given blade like claws. Now she'd found out he had some rather shady hobbies and enjoyed strange women.

It bothered her in a lot of ways, and as she cut out a chunk of her steak and began to eat, she wondered why. What they'd ended up saying was true. They were very different people, and those differences deserved to be embraced. So why was she having trouble accepting the fact that Logan had this side to him? She saw Laura on the other end of the bar, looking down sadly into her own cup of coffee. She didn't look like the mean spirited girl she had initially shown herself to be . She looked sad, even dejected. It was quite a contrast to the bold and seemingly confident woman she portrayed herself as. Olivia felt a sudden wave of shame, realizing that she and Laura were not as different as she would like to think. Laura had lashed out at her because she thought a man she was attracted to had been with someone else. Olivia had to admit, she resented Logans less than chaste actions for the same reason. She was attracted to him, and the thought of him being so loose with the occasional woman made her...jealous. It was a sobering revelation for her, and her chewing slowed over the delicious steak. There were scriptures about guarding ones heart from jealousy. Jealousy after all had led Cain into killing his brother. Now she didn't think herself capable of such a thing, but it was a negative emotion, poisonous to the spirit.

"Somethin' wrong with it?"

Logans question broke through her thoughts, and she shook her head no in reply, swallowing before she answered, "No, the steaks amazing. I can't remember the last time I had one, never mind one this good."

"Well you look bothered." He observed, taking a large bite of his own with a few pieces of potatoes. "Still mad about my cage fights?"

"No." She watched him for a moment, her gentle gaze taking Logan in under the new light this revelation had brought her. He was handsome, he was tough, and his heart was warm. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind and I don't really much feel like sharing."

Given some things she had been through he didn't doubt that. "That's fair." He assured, shoveling yet more food into his mouth. "You don't gotta tell me everything, just know I can listen if you need to."

She smiled, the secret of her affection making her heart warm as he offered that.

"Thanks Big Guy."

**See uyou next time lovies :**


	8. Tangible

**I have so many thank you's to hand out this time! LoverXxofxXReading, , hipster14, and KaterinaPetrova1967, Thank you for the faves and watches!**

**Lilabeth- You get your wish this chapter! Read on and you'll see!**

**DemonSimon- I relish your reviews and am very open to hear what you'd be interested in seeing! It serves as a friendly reminder to help me remember to include certain details, and gives me ideas and plans on what I can work with! So no worries, okay?**

The rest of breakfast proceeded peacefully, Olivia drinking more than her fair share of coffee and Logan digesting both his own large steak and the unfinished portion of her own.

Olivia reclined against the wall in the booth, sipping her brew in savored comfort. It felt so good to be fed, the horrible gnawing of her empty stomach now only a bad memory. It was amazing to her that she was sitting here now after the past few months. She'd felt the sting of poverty intimately and the burden of banishment from her family, a true taste of hell, but to her endless astonishment she had been saved. Wolverine sat across the booth, draining the last of his coffee from his mug as he watched the morning news. From where she was sitting, she didn't think Logan knew what he'd done for her.

From what she gathered, he had been in the area and received a phone call from this Charles Xavier. He was doing some sort of duty as an X-man by responding to the call and going after her, but when she had asked after his reasons for being an Xman he had skirted the topic in favor of conversation he felt more comfortable covering. How he had been able to tell her some of his history already but then be so secretive about his reasons for joining the X-men was beyond her understanding. She personally felt that him confiding in her about his reoccurring nightmares was more personal territory, but apparently he felt differently. Something very private drew this wandering man back to that school and the gentleman who ran it, she had decided. Maybe she'd see what it was for herself once she got there.

In any case, what to her had been a life changing act of heroism had been a routine mission to him. It wasn't to say he had been unsympathetic, because he'd been very supportive and gentle with her, but she was slowly coming to terms with the fact that Logan was more enigmatic than she could have ever imagined. She found herself wondering if the fact that he had changed her life for the better meant anything to him, or if possibly, he couldn't even see the good that he had done for her? She found the latter far more plausible. Logan didn't strike her as the kind of man who was very aware of his good qualities. The way he had tried to convince her that he wasn't a nice guy only solidified that idea.

She brushed a lock of chocolate brown hair behind her ear, eyes on Logan as he watched the news. No. He had no idea how he had changed her life or the depth of her gratitude for him doing so. At least not yet.

"This ain't good." He muttered, his focus on the little tv set up nearby.

She hadn't been paying attention admittedly, so she wasn't sure what he was referring to.

"What's wrong?" She reached for the coffee pot and poured herself yet another refill, eyes drawn to the television.

Logan's jaw was taut and his teeth clenched as the images flashed over the news feed. Most people who mistrusted mutants didn't label themselves as 'anti-mutant'. It just wasn't politically correct in this day and age so they called themselves 'mutant awareness advocates'. In Logan's mind, it was still plain and simple bigotry, the same old story of people fearing what they didn't understand. He'd seen it all his life, and slapping a new label on it didn't make them any different than it was a hundred years ago.

The MAA's were marching on political buildings, trying to make mutant registration mandatory for all mutants, not just ones who had a run in with the law. They cried to making the files public so everyone could be aware of the possible dangers around them, and to receive alerts by mail when a mutant moved into a new neighborhood. They had painted up their picket signs with slogans like 'MAA's to avoid MIA's' and rallied together, but unavoidably, things had turned violent.

Mutants knew what this would lead to. Further segregation, even entire neighborhoods dedicated to mutant kind so the 'normal people' would be kept 'safe'. It'd become impossible for a mutant to live in a gated community or to run for political office, and their rights would be continually violated.

The two sides had finally clashed, and the aftermath was all over the news. A few mutants had come forward to a rally to make their own voices heard, but reasoning had turned into yelling, yelling became pushing, powers were used and guns were pulled. When all was said and done, there were twelve injured and four fatalities. Three were average humans and one was mutant.

Logan was still waiting to see a flash of the dead mutant on the screen, or at least a name mentioned. Albany, where the incident had taken place, was directly on the path home to Westchester if he continued to take route 87 south. It wasn't much of a stretch to imagine that one of the kids from the institute had gotten mixed up in all of this. He rubbed his chin, eyes glued to the screen, waiting.

He got his answer as he saw the authorities dragging a large wolf out from behind the yellow tape, moving to place it in a body bag. Blood mottled the fur and smeared the concrete, eyes still open but never to see again. Anthromorphic in nature and too humanoid to be an average wolf, he knew exactly who the mutant was, and the news hit him with the force of a typhoon.

Logan made a glutteral sound of grief and stood suddenly. Hot rage shot through his blood in bullets of adrenaline, his heart pounding and instincts crying out for the blood of Wolfbanes killers, but there would be no satisfaction for him. He knew there was nothing to be done and that helplessness only made his anger more potent. The beast inside him frothed at the mouth, rabid in its need to be released and exercised.

"Logan?" Olivia called in confusion as he got up. When he didn't so much as acknowledge her she slipped from the booth, her boots pounding against the worn wooden floor after him.

She didn't understand what had just happened. One moment they were watching the news and drinking coffee and the next he was storming out of the bar looking like he was going to murder someone!

"Logan!" She followed him out the door, only to be met with an angry scowl as he retreated further. "Logan, are you okay?"

He didn't even look back at her as he snarled, "Wait here and don't follow me!"

She protested, "But Logan-"

He whirled around at her, his posture hunched forward like an animal on the attack, "**Dammit Olivia, get your ass inside!**" He roared, baring his teeth as he did.

She stopped dead in her tracks, stunned into stillness by his rage and not daring to defy him in this state. His chest heaved mightily, his arms taut and tense, and that cold and murderous gleam in his eyes chilled her to the core.

This didn't look like Logan. It looked like a wild animal.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to him earnestly, taking a step backwards. "I'll wait."

His body twitched when he heard those meek words, his eyes softening ever so slightly as they followed that slight retreat. Yeah he wanted to be alone, but he didn't want to scare her away either. The images from the television were burned into his eyes, his most primal urges telling him to disappear into the woods, howl out his pain and take out his anger on the giant maples that crept over the landscape. Seeing Olivia still standing there, concern in those mysterious violet eyes kept him from doing so. He had to get her to the institute today and before sun set. He didn't have time to run around the wilderness like an uncaged beast, not when she was depending on him.

With a frustrated cry, he buried his claws into the side of the building, his frame trembling under the power of his anger.

"Logan... Please." Her gentle voice entreated, "What's wrong?"

She was still there. She hadn't come forward, but she hadn't gone inside either. Then again, he hadn't retreated into the woods. Distraught, he pulled his claws from the building and looked down at them. As strong as he was, he lacked the power to protect those kids after all...

"On the news," He began, his voice rough, "they were covering that incident with the MAA's and one of the dead was a mutant." He turned his head away, lowering his claws and withdrawing them. "They showed her being bagged. Her name was Rahne Sinclair, or Wolfsbane."

Understanding made Olivias eyes go wide, and she gasped softly. Logan had known the mutant who died!

"Oh God, Logan-" She wanted to go forward and comfort him, but she dared not to with his previous warning still ringing in her ears. "How did you know her?"

His fists shook as he clenched them, eyes squeezed shut as he ground out. "She was one of the students from Xaviers school. She graduated last year. I taught her personally. Something about the way she shifted into a wolf made sense to the animal in me." He waited another moment before turning to her, his face hard and tense with anger, but Olivia saw the grief in his eyes. She finally stepped forward, letting him talk about the girl that had been lost. "She was a good kid. We brought her to the school from Scotland to help her learn about her gifts. She was sweet, damn religious to a fault, and a really good student." He laughed a little, humorlessly, as he felt his eyes burn with pain. He averted his gaze so that Olivia wouldn't see the wetness in his eyes. Anger was draining out of him into something else that was much harder for him to deal with.

Olivia reached him without knowing what she was supposed to do. In times past when someone needed comforting she hugged them. She was a physically affectionate girl and she showed her support through touches and embraces. Here though, she wondered if Logan would welcome such a touch, or if he was the type who it was best to keep away from when they felt grief.

"Dammit, what was she doing mixed up in a mess like that, we taught her better!"

"You don't know all the facts!" She said quickly, "It could be the wrong place at the wrong time or any number of things!" She took his hand in both her own, grasping it in support. "Logan, believe in her. I'm sorry she's gone, I truly am, but don't jump to conclusions."

His body shook, but valiantly he managed to keep the tears from falling. His hand opened, and firmly grasped hers.

"I don't wanna talk about it Liv." He finally said, voice a bit gruff with emotion. "We should just wrap it up here and hit the road."

Saying nothing, Olivia just nodded before bowing her head until her brow rested against Logans bicep. There was nothing she could say or do to help him, so his decision not to talk about it was easy to accept. Still, she felt the weight that was bogging him down, the tension of him trying to hold up under it communicated clearly through their touch. To loose someone you had nurtured and taught had to be a great pain, and suddenly she found herself wondering after her Maestro. Did he feel her loss as Logan felt Rahnes? Guiltily she recalled how her mentor had taken care of her through the years. How many fights with her father had ended up with her running to his house in tears. He'd let her in, make her tea, and let her sleep on his couch, much to the chagrin of her parents. Maybe, once she was settled at her new home, she should call Mr. Destler. To think of him feeling the kind of worry over her, wondering if she were dead or alive made her feel wretched. Calling him was long overdue now. Tonight then. She'd call him tonight.

Logan fell into a tense silence after that, brooding and distant. Olivia decided it'd be best to let him have his space and didn't disturb him with conversation and questions. He needed time to himself, but he was stuck with her for the time being, so the least she could do was be quiet. They went inside to gather their things and Logan paid the bill. After saying her thanks and waving goodbye, they got on the bike and left for Westchester.

The weaving mountain trails through the peaks of the Adirondacks faded into the rolling hills and farm country that Olivia had always associated with upstate New York. Patches of cornfields were stretched out in some places, and in others dairy cows grazed and chewed their cud in their hillside pastures. She watched it all pass by with familiarity. It wasn't unlike her home just to the east in vermont. In fact, if they kept on their route they would be seeing signs for Bennington soon. She closed her eyes. But that wasn't home anymore, was it? Her heart longed for the coming autumn apple picking, apple crisp and pies made with her mother, the delicious maple syrup made by their neighbor, but it wasn't her home, and those now were only memories.

Don't feel sorry for yourself Olivia, she reminded herself firmly. It's over, it's in the past and the past does not control you. Savor the happy memories and make new ones. It was so much more complicated than what she told herself. She wanted on some shameful level to stay miserable and jaded, to wallow in her misery and lash out at anyone who dared to be happy. She wanted to resent her family for ousting her, hate the community that had shunned her out of the town she loved, and shun human kind that dared to think she was some kind of genetically flawed reject of nature!

She had walked that path for the first month of her isolation, wandering invisible and acting as a disenchanted ghost. She'd lost everything. Her home, her purity, and all the friends she'd known. She hated the world for what it'd done to her, and she'd even blamed her God for allowing her to suffer this way.

Living life that way, however, had only hurt herself, not those who'd done her wrong.

She couldn't think about how low she had been now, and once again she reminded herself, It's in the past and the past does not control me.

Signs for Albany came and went, and with it, signs for her home town. Resolved not to think about how close she was to where she had grown up, she just held onto Logan a little tighter and turned her face away.

Geez, she had to pee...

Logan had kept the throttle open and they were making good time, all things considered. Olivia hadn't been hounding him for bathroom breaks, which helped, as did their big breakfast. They hadn't felt the need to stop and eat yet, though he suspected that they would soon, but it was honestly the furthest thing from his mind.

His thoughts had been racing as fast as the wheels of the harley turned and there was no peace for the direction they headed. Rahne was dead, the first official casualty of the MAA. Their protests had gone from relatively peaceful to an innocent death. He'd known they were starting to get rowdy and that inevitably someone was going to get hurt, but the fact that it was Wolfsbane was a devastating blow, not just to him, but to the gang at the Xavier institute. He was sure that the entire place was in mourning and tensions were higher than normal, which meant that Olivia was coming into it at a disadvantage. On a good day, the school was a bustle of activity and alive with gossip. On days like today, no one was going to be at their best and a distraction like a new student would put Olivia under unfair speculation. The rumor mills were going to be churning all sorts of idiocy up, and he knew Jubilee and Shadowcat were going to be among the first to get it going. The two were well meaning and good kids but hell they loved to talk! He'd have to make sure Halfpint was on her best behavior. Jubilee however, was a bit more of a loose cannon and he was sure any warnings he gave her would go in one ear and out the other.

He felt Olivias hands moving, her head resting against his back as her hands moved up and began to fiddle with his dog tags. He sighed, feeling bad for snapping at her back at the bar. She didn't seem to take it personally at least, so that was good. No use bringing it up if they had moved on. He rose his own hand to pat her fingers as they thumbed the printing on the metal.

He pulled the bike onto the coming exit ramp. The bike slowed as they approached a stop sign, and he called over the purring engine, "Gotta gas up. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat!" She agreed, lifting her head and moving her hands back to his waist. She added, "I've got to pee too!"

He laughed deeply, "Darlin, after all the coffee you drank this morning I'm surprised you didn't have me stop a dozen times!"

She blushed, "I would have but I didn't want to complain. Besides, I peed before we left so it hasn't been so bad."

She felt him laugh again more than she heard it as he pulled the bike to turn right. There was a gas station and roadside diner within sight. Within a few seconds he pulled in. THe bike pulled to a stop at the gas pumps, and kicking out the stand, Logan got up. She followed, stretching like a feline as she did. He paused to watch her, eyes traveling to the two inches of bare middrift that her stretch had exposed. She had a cute belly button... Tearing his gaze away, he pulled the pas pump out and got to work filling the bike.

"What are you hungry for?" He asked.

Olivia closed her eyes and crossed her arms, inhaling deeply of the summer air. "I want the biggest greasiest cheeseburger I can get, with bacon on it, and french fries with a shake I can dip them into!"

He rose a skeptical brow at her. "You had me up to the part where you dip your fries in a milkshake."

"It's delicious Logan!" She said with an enthusiastic smile. It looked like this one came easy, and he privately was glad to see her acting so carefree. "The combo of salty fries and sweet shake is just too sophisticated for your crude palette!" She winked at him, and he grinned at her teasing. This girl showed such spirit when she was relaxed.

"Or maybe," He countered, "you're tastebuds are so dead they'd think that nasty combo is actually good!" He stopped pumping the gas and screwed the cap back on, replacing the pump back into the caddy.

"Right, right, that's it. I guess you're just gonna have to try it Big Guy!"

He was finding the he liked her nickname for him. It was a sign that she was at ease and trusted him. Of course, that comment the night before came to mind, and his gaze grew a shade darker as he remarked, "Still hopin'?"

To his satisfaction, she blushed.

"Go inside and get a table, I'm gonna check in with the Professor and make sure things are set back home."

She really didn't want to go in by herself. She had spent three months by herself in strange places and the thought of wandering inside on her own too strongly reminded her of what her life had been like just days ago.

"Hey," He said gently, patting her shoulder. "It's just a phone call, you'll be able to see me from the window." His eyes met hers, locking them in a firm stare. "I promise Liv. Five minutes. Can you do it?"

No, her nerves shouted helplessly, but it was her mind that argued to the contrary. She trusted Logan, and he had taken every care to make sure that the trust had not been betrayed. After a moment of reinforcing her will, she nodded.

"Okay."

Logan was glad that she had conceded. He knew life had been tough on her and he sympathized, but she had to do these things or risk relapsing into a state of codependency, and nothing was more annoying to him than someone who couldn't do anything for themselves.

His arm wound around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring embrace as his other hand pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Thata girl." He commended, "Now get along inside. I want beer if they have it, Corona would be perfect!"

His specific request solidified to her that he'd be along, and with a brief return embrace, she pressed a kiss to his collar and turned to head inside. It wasn't until she was about half way to the building that her actions caught up with her. She had kissed him. No, it hadn't been on the lips but it had been what she could reach, his collar by his neck. She's felt his skin under her lips as well as the balled chain of his dog tags. Her heart gave a skip, and she smiled girlishly.

Logan watched her go, still feeling the fleeting touch of her lips on his skin. That had been unexpected, but given their growing rapport, he should have expected another affectionate gesture from her. It was unusual, because he typically didn't relish the idea of the students treating him in this way. He gave off a pretty strong 'fuck off' vibe, and coupled with how hard he worked those kids, it kept most from wandering too close and putting him in an uncomfortable position. Olivia was going to be one of those students, but he felt it easy to show Olivia small amounts of affection. A brush of the hand here, or comforting embrace there, and even feeling comfortable enough to let them share a bed. He'd even held her, which of itself was weird considering that no one was allowed in his bed who he didn't plan on imediately screwing, and that thought never entered his mind. Well, to be honest it had briefly, but it wasn't a plan and something he was intent on following through on. No matter the reason though, something in his mind wouldn't group Olivia in with the other students he watched over.

_Maybe_, the beast inside of him offered,_ it's because you know students are off limits. IF you view Olivia as a student, you can't pursue her_. This made Logans entire body tense suddenly, and he turned to his bike and walked it over to a parking space. Leave it to the beast to proclaim what should have been obvious. Yeah, he liked Olivia, he was moderately attracted to her, but she'd been molested and abused, and a girl in a delicate position like that was not an ideal persuit for a brute like him.

He pocketed the keys to his bike, and pulled out his phone, staring down at the screen as he turned it on. The truth was still there and nagging at him now. He had a thing for her and with that knowledge he'd have to be extra careful from here on out.

He dialed the Professor, waiting outside the large window of the diner. He saw Olivia inside, being shown to a table. She saw him and waved, then picked up the menu to show him from where she sat. There was a picture of a giant burger and fries on the front, which had been exactly what she'd wanted. He waved her off with a shake of his head.

"It's good to see you call Logan." Came the professors voice on the other end of the line. "I'm afraid we have bad news."

Logan took a deep breath, "Yeah, I saw the news this morning. I didn't take it too well."

"No one has, I'm afraid." Xavier informed him, "The students are shocked and grieving. There's been no news about a memorial service but we're under the impression her father Reverend Craig will be having her transported back to Scotland for burial so Storm is making arrangements to honor Miss Sinclair on friday evening." Logan could here Xavier exhale unsteadily on the other side of the phone. "This event is being met with mixed reactions Logan. Some are calling it the beginning of a war and are scrambling to fortify for it and others are seeing it as at least a turning point. Things are about to change and I'm afraid that it won't be in the direction we've been striving for."

Logan wasn't surprised by this. Yeah, it'd have been nice if things had taken an optimistic turn but things always got worse before they got better. He watched Olivia in the diner being handed the shake she'd wanted, his beer set in the empty seat across from her. He knew he'd have to toughen her up if she was going to survive what was coming.

"There's more Logan. MAA protesters have made their way to the mansion gates and are crowding there. I don't know how you will be able to deliver Miss Fitzgerald safely."

Now this was news he could have done without, and his growl of displeasure conveyed what no words could. "Well shit! ANd I'm assuming you're not gonna let me mow em down?"

"I'll send help so you can peacefully bring her in. I don't need to tell you how fragile the political atmosphere is for mutants right now. The fire's already started Logan, we don't need to toss gasoline on it!"

"Fine," He grumped, disappointed that he couldn't do things his way, "Who you gonna send?"

"Most everyone here is busy at the moment. Jean and Ororo are comforting the students and Hank has been pouring over Miss Fitgeralds registry files for clues as to why Sinister has fixated on her. It will most likely be Gambit."

"_Fuck_- Chuck that guys not what Olivia needs right now! He's gonna get in her space, say all the wrong things and make her damn uncomfortable!"

There was an exasperated sigh. "Mr. LeBeau has the skills to get you inside. I'll implore him to be on his best behavior well in advance."

"Send Jean-" He argued, "Liv needs a womans touch, not Gumbos."

"She's just not available, Logan!"

"_Make her available then_!"

"I have matters to attend to Logan, and Gambit is the one who's available for the task. IF there are problems I will address them as they arise but for now this is what is at my disposal. I should inform you that Olivias living space is prepared and a removable barricade has been crafted for her window. She'll go without a room mate for the time being but she will be assigned one after she gets settled. I'll text you shortly to tell you where to meet Gambit. Is there anything else you need?"

Obscenities to spit came to mind, but he successfully bit them back. "See you in a few hours."

"Good Luck."

They hung up and Logan looked up into the blazing summer sky. The idea of letting Gambit around Olivia was about as appealing as shoving his claws into his eyeballs. The Cajun had no sense of time and place and he could only imagine that it'd take all of five minutes before he put the moves on Twilight, ignorant to what she'd been through and how she'd react to such an advance. If he was as tactless as he usually was, he'd say the wrong thing and she'd feel as uncomfortable as a fish out of water. _Or he'd sweet talk her into fits of giggles in that panty dropping accent of his and she'd innocently fall head over heals for the bastard!_ Oh no, hell no! He'd gut him if he treated her like every other creature with breasts at that mansion!

The promise of a beer pulled Logan inside the diner. He'd have to warn Olivia about Gambit meeting up with them and hopefully, she'd be wise enough to Remys games to not fall victim to his indiscriminate charms.

They were back on the road in a surprisingly small amount of time. He'd covered the recent events at the mansion with her, told her about meeting up with LeBeau, and successfully warned her about his 'personality'. Olivia to his relief had assured him that she just wasn't the kind of girl who was into guys like that and he was surprised to learn she had little experience with men in general. As he gave in and tried her french fry in the milkshake bit, he listened as she confessed that she'd actually been so intensely focused on her goals to be a broadway singer than she'd hardly had time or even the desire for relationships at all. Remy forgotten for the time being, he'd pried with interest for her to sing a few notes, but she had bashfully refused.

"I'm out of practice and my voice gets a little nasally after I have dairy." she explained and gestured to the milkshake as she dunked her fry in the mix.

"I'm sure you sound great. Come on! Let me hear!"

She smiled and shook her head in the negative. "Well, there's something else. My voice is rather operatic. A lot of people don't much care for that kind of music."

Logan snorted, eating the rest of his french fry and forgoing any more dips in the thick sweet shake. That combo definitely wasn't his kind of thing. "I don't care what you sing Darlin, I just want to hear you do it! Hell you've studied it long enough apparently and you talk about this 'maestro' of yours like he's some kind of idol, you've got to be amazing."

She bit her lower lip between her teeth and turned an adorable shade of pink, the color setting off the violet of her eyes as the orbs flitted in his direction. Damn, she had no idea how appealing that made her lips look, did she? He found his own teeth longing to replace her own on that pink wet bud.

"Well, I'll let you hear me, but not today." She promised, brushing her silky brown hair back over her milky shoulder. "When we get to that school, when we get some time to ourselves when it's just you and me, that is, if you still want to hang out with me after all this is over."

He grinned and promised, "Count on it."

Well on the road now, he went over that conversation in his mind in anticipation. It seemed she wanted to keep what they had going, whatever it was. He definitely hadn't had a relationship like it before.

Typically he knew just by looking at a woman if they were his type or not. That's what had happened with Jean. One look at that pale skin, those bright emerald eyes and that long mane of fiery red hair had been all it took. It hadn't hurt that Jean always smelled amazing too. She spritzed a quality perfume on in the mornings, but by the evening, it had worn away enough for him to smell that sweet delicate fragrance of a strong and desirable woman. She was the perfect woman in every sense of the word, and though she denied it and chose someone else, he still could tell that she wondered about him. Yeah, she may be with Scott, but that womans mind was on him.

He felt guilty for a moment, realizing he was contemplating the possibility of a new relationship but was still longing after someone else. That would have to change. If he settled on a relationship he was a one woman man with no one nighters or straying glances. If he chose to pursue Olivia, if she would have him, he'd have to make sure that Jean was out of his mind and heart.

That would take_ a lot_ of doing.

The time had just passed four o'clock when they reached Westchester, and a glance at a text on his phone told him that they'd be meeting Gambit in the Burger King parking lot. It didn't take very long to get there, and when Logan pulled in and Gambit was nowhere to be seen Logan turned off the bike.

Eager to stretch her legs, Olivia hopped off the bitch seat and touched her palms to the pavement with a groan. "Ooooooh, I love to ride Logan, but I can no longer feel my butt!"

It crossed his mind to offer to feel it for her, but he somehow managed to keep that particular remark to himself, though he did smirk and let his eyes take in Olivias spectacular bottom. She glanced his way, about to say something when she caught him. He didn't even pretend to act like he wasn't looking, and he enjoyed how she immediately straightened up, dusting her palms on her thighs looking as bashful as ever. Torn between being flattered and self conscious, she could no longer remember what she was going to say.

He took pity on her.

"Gumbos not here yet. You want something inside?" He asked, finally slipping off the bike himself.

"Just the bathroom." she said as she started for the door. A few minutes to herself would do her some good after that embarrassment anyway. "I'll be right back, Big Guy."

"Don't be too long," He called after her.

She waved back at him, replying, "Got it."

She opened the door to the fast food chain and was met with the smells she'd come to associate with the place, particularly the aroma of hot patties, onions, and ammonia. What was it about fast food franchises that made them all smell the same to her?

Fortunately, the bathrooms were in a hallway right beside the entrance and she was able to skirt the crowded line that was in the main building. Once inside the brown tiled washroom, she scooched into a stall and slipped the latch into place. Just pulling down her jeans was a challenge. The floor of the restroom was wet from some piping in need of repair, and she had to keep her knees slightly lifted to keep her wants from touching the moisture. She figured it was a small price to pay to finally take a dump.

She was just about done when two women came in, chatting noisily.

"No one came in or out all day, it was like picketing in the middle of the woods for all the good it did." One said, stopping at the sink and leaning over it towards the mirror to check her makeup. She was middle aged, her blonde hair permed and cut short with a boxed dye job. She was in a blazer and slacks, a flower brooch on the lapel.

The other was shifting through her oversized designer purse, stopping only when she pulled out a tube of lipstick. She looked much younger than the other, with long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. "They knew we were there, and the fact that no one came in or out just means they're avoiding a confrontation, which they won't be able to do forever. They know we don't want mutants in our community, and the way things are going it won't be too much longer until they go some place else."

The other sighed, teasing her short curls with her fingers. "I know Chrissie but in the meantime I still have to send my kids to school with mutant kids. You don't have kids in harms way every day like I do."

Chrissie looked at her elder apologetically. "You're right, I'm sorry Steph. You're so brave doing all this for those kids."  
"I have to be brave, we're fighting for their future and safety."

Olivia felt so awkward. These people were picketers outside of Xaviers School and they were talking very passionately about how they were afraid for their community and their children. It was an up close view of the other side of the coin. They really seemed to believe that mutants were a very real threat. She stood quietly and buttoned up her jeans, waiting to see if they would finish up and leave.

"You know, on one hand, at least they have that school so the mutant kids aren't in the public school system. They'd cause a lot of trouble otherwise." Chrissie tossed her lipstick back in her bag and preened in front of her reflection. A moment later, she had her self phone in hand taking a pouty lipped selfie.

Steph scoffed at that. "They don't have all the mutant kids in the area at that school, Chrissie. Maybe it IS better than nothing but it's nowhere near good enough to keep schools safe for the normal children." She stepped back from the mirror and straightened her jacket. "Mutants need to leave this town and go somewhere else. The government needs to step it up and make a space available for the mutants to go where they won't disrupt our lives anymore!"

It was clear that the women weren't wrapping things up, and Olivia just wanted to get out of there. Saying a quick prayer, she opened her stall door, and kept her eyes downcast so they wouldn't notice their coloration.

"Excuse me." She said politely, making her way to the sink to wash her hands.

"Excuse us, we're hogging the whole mirror!" Chrissie laughed, her blonde locks bobbing around her face.

So far so good, Olivia decided as she turned on the water and started to wash up.

"While we have you," Stephanie began, pulling a clip board from her purse. "We've been petitioning and getting signatures to give to the mayor, asking him to take action in removing the Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters from the community!" She sounded so amazingly perky as she advertised something so grossly ignorant!

Olivia got a squirt of soap, hurrying up to lather and rinse. Her heart was beginning to race anxiously, and she was sure if they looked closely they'd see that she was shaking. She just wanted to get out of here, to go back outside where Logan was waiting.

"Can you spare your signature for our cause?" Chrissie coaxed, "It'd make a big difference in the safety of the town if there were less mutants here to disrupt things!"

When Olivia didn't answer, they looked at one another suspiciously. She hurriedly pulled a paper towel from the dispenser to dry off. She mustered her courage and replied, "I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry."

"It'll only take a second to sign it." The older one pressed relentlessly, getting in front of her and presenting the pen and clipboard to the nervous girl.

She stared at the paper. It was littered with signatures and comments of people trying to force mutants out of Westchester in the name of the greater good. She tried to gently brush the petition away and get to the door, unable to look at the evidence of such unforgiving prejudice being shoved in her face, but the woman in front of her was undeterred.

"Are you some sort of mutant sympathizer?" She said darkly, her expression far from the surface friendliness she had seen just seconds before.

Olivia felt cornered. Her escape was blocked by these two proud members of the MAA, their accusing eyes following her every move. Her violet eyes lifted and stared into their own like a deer caught in headlights, and she saw in dismay as they realized what she was.  
They gasped in unison, exclaiming, "She's one of them!"

With a whimper, Olivia forced her way past them and pushed that blasted clipboard out of her way! Stephanie was so in shock that it fell from her grasp, landing face down on the floor directly in a puddle of water!

"No! The signatures!"

Twilight threw the door to the restroom open and ran through, taking satisfaction at least in the fact that those womens hard earned signatures were well and destroyed, delaying their plans. The voices behind her grew angry and a split second later they were in hot pursuit.

"Hold it you mutie bitch!" Stephanie cried, holding her dripping and warped ink smeared papers up. Chrissie was right behind her. "You're going to pay for this!"

Olivia looked back at them and plowed forward, insisting, "It was an accident, leave me- Ah!"

If she had been watching where she was going, she would have seen a man coming into the building blocking the mouth of the restroom hallway. An easily avoidable accident occurred, her body running hard into the strangers rock solid body. For a moment, Olivia panicked, thinking it was another protester here on some kind of break and coming to the aid of their female friends and pushed against the chest of the brown trench coat in front of her face, but leather gloved hands gently grabbed her upper arms to steady her.

"Easy now, chere." Came a voice, sweet and thick as molasses.

Olivia looked up into what could only be an angels face with the devils eyes, her mouth mutely opening a crack as a whisper of breath escaped them. His jaw was square and dusted with a few days worth of stubble, framing a perfectly lopsided grin. Overgrown auburn hair swept softly against his brow, falling into the path of his eyes, which looked like a burning red embers dropped in a sea of coals. He regarded her with an almost gentlemanly softness, his thumbs massaging little circles against her small biceps. He leaned forward slightly, and she realized just as she was staring into his extraordinarily colored eyes, he was looking into her own. Olivia had been spooked by the women pursuing her, but now she trembled for an entirely different reason. Remembering Logans description, this had to be the notorious Gambit.

"Stop that girl, she's a mutant!" Cried the women giving chase!

His attention snapped from the woman in his grasp to the two standing just before them now, Olivia still somewhat dazed by what had just happened.

"Oh well now, we can't have dat, now can we ladies!" He spun Olivia out of the way to stand behind him and faced them. He cocked his head so that his hair danced hypnotically before his eyes and cast a disarmingly charming smile at the two, "After all, we mutants are a dangerous bunch, non?"

"You are indeed!" Stephanie shouted, trembling in anger. Her companion Chrissie however, was staring at him, beside herself.  
"Oh ma petit', y'wound me with your words. Whats Remy done that's made y'so unhappy. Pretty ladies such as yourselves look so much lovelier wearin smiles!"

Chrissie was blushing and stifling a giggle, the older woman blinking as his charm threw her anger of balance. The two looked at eachother and began to grin girlishly.

"Oh you flatterer-"

"Mais non, the truth is not flattery, Remy just observant." He took up Stephanies hand swiftly and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, directly above her wedding ring. "Couldn't you be so gracious as to let us be on our way? We dun want trouble, d'accord."

The two women hid their emerging smiles behind splayed fingers, and as Stephanie withdrew her hand from Remys, Chrissie pressed her phone number into the mans leather clad palm with a wink.

"Well sure, how can we be upset when you've been so polite, young man!" The older woman shouldered her handbag and walked by him with a wave. The other followed, tossing Remy a wink.

"Merci!" He drawled with a flamboyant bow! The two women exited the building, still glancing back and laughing merrily.  
Olivia couldn't believe what she had just seen! Those two had been livid, their hatred of mutants blinding! How had Gambit turned it around with such ease? It was just impossible!

Slowly, the man in question turned, those burning eyes smouldering in his face as they unashamedly burrowed into her own, demanding her exclusive attention. She felt a shiver run down her spine and right back up, the air in her lungs suddenly feeling very thin. Nonchalantly he leaned his back against the wall and winked at her.

"You, m'belle ange, are welcome."

**I bet it shows, but Gambit is actually my all time favorite X-men character. I do love me some Wolverine, but I am a huge Remy LeBeau fan! He will be playing a major part in this story, so stay tuned!** **I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are still interested in what's to come. Please review if you have a spare moment! Love you!**


	9. Strobe

**Hello you wonderful people! I'm back with a new chapter, my apologies for the wait. This story has taken some time to set up the way I need it, but rest assured, pretty soon, things should start heating up. **

**Some thanks and replies now! Thank you to Laurarena, ColdSnowGirl, Rainbor123, ReadingAnyhow, Kiarra24, SweetInsanity89, Designation CrimsonSong, ALRose, emubunnyxxx, and Maddie1998 for the faves and watches! You guys are blowing me away with your support, I hardly know how to thank you other than, you know, screaming THANK YOU!**

**Rainbor123- Thank you, it should continue to progress, but not in ways everyone expects!**

**Kiarra24- Thank you so much, I appreciate your kindness greatly!**

**Guest- Well, here you go :D**

**DesignationCrimsonSong- You dear, have good taste!**

**Jynxofthe2ndLaw- I was out to ice cream with hubby this weekend, and I hot a reeces pieces sundae and he got fries and a burger, and knowing what you said, I tried dunking my fries in hot fudge. I now know I am to be three hundred pounds because that combo is just so amazing! Thanks!**

**DemonSimon- I hope you enjoy your rooting for Logan in this Chapter, there is much friction between the cajun and canook! **

Suddenly, all of Logans warnings about Remy LeBeau made perfect sense. When he had voiced his concerns at the diner earlier that day she thought it was a strange thing to worry about. She'd seen plenty of good looking men who tried to charm women with their good looks, perfect teeth, and silver tongues. She had never been the subject of such charms, but she found that as a rule their attempts were transparently false and easily ignored. Gambit, on the other hand, had something else working for him. It was beyond charm, it was utter magnetism! When he smiled and those demon eyes looked in your own, his rich southern accented voice weaving spells in french, your will was no longer yours but a plaything to his whims. She wondered if it could be part of his mutation, but Logan hadn't mentioned it if that were the case. No, he had said his powers were something about kinetics and dormant energies made active. She wasn't sure what that meant but it didn't seem that raw sex appeal was a part of it.

Logans concern had been that Remy, which he described as a 'thoughtless slippery heart breaking bastard' would trigger her in some way. She didn't doubt it now that she saw him in person. He was so secure in his charms that it would be easy for him to say something that would but her ill at ease, or offer her a flirting touch that would trigger disturbing memories. At least in her mind, she agreed with Logan. Her heart, which fluttered at a simple glance from him, was another matter entirely.

And she suspected that Gambit was perfectly aware of the effect he had on her. In fact, he seemed to bask in it.

It took her a few long moments to compose herself after the women had left, finding herself rudely staring at him. He had taken to rotating a split deck of cards in one hand, cutting the deck and folding them back together in quick succession. The movement was mesmerizing.

"Gambit," She said finally, grateful to hear that her voice didn't shake when she spoke. "You're Gambit, right?"

"Oui," He said, his lips parting to reveal a perfect row of white teeth, "Or Remy, if you rather. Y'heard a me, chere?"

Again, her timidness kept a reply at bay, and she struggled to formulate a coherent sentence. She gestured to the door and began walking towards it, managing. "Logan said you 'd be here."

"Is dat all?" he queried with a little pout, following along behind her with his hand restlessly fingering those playing cards. She wondered what the fixation on them was. "Disappointing."

"No, that's not all," She said, cracking a bit of a smile as she walked through the glass door and held it for him. She added quietly, "He also said you were a slippery heart breaking bastard and I had to be careful."

For some reason the accusation delighted the cajun, and he grinned with mounting cheerfulness as he walked outside with her.

"Moi?" He cooed, keeping their gazes firmly locked as he slipped by her. He purposely brushed his body close, their hips grazing. Olivia found herself holding her breath, her grip on the doors handle becoming ever tighter. "Quite astute of Wolvie. Makes Remy wonder... Is he lookin out for you or is he trying to elbow out some competition?"

Competition? Over her? The thought stupefied her. All through high school she had been utterly invisible to men, overlookable and uninteresting to the entirety of the male gender. The idea of Logan being interested in her alone was a thrill, but now Remy had eluded to maybe having such intentions as well? It was overwhelming!

She broke the gaze, trying to reinforce her resolve. Logan had warned her about him for a reason, and her trust in Wolverine was solid and unshakable after all he had done for her! She couldn't let Gambit get under her skin. Releasing the door, she turned away from him and began making her way towards where Logan waited with his bike. He saw them coming and began to cross the parking lot to meet them.

"He's looking out for me." She replied firmly. "After what I saw you pull in there, I'd doubt any flirting you may dish out would really mean anything."

Gambit blinked, his hand pausing from the perpetual card shuffling and quickly pocketing the deck. He hurried up to walk beside her.

"N'what makes you think Remy's words are so shallow?" He asked, seeming genuinely interested in her answer. She didn't reply.

"Maybe she's just a good judge of character, you thought of that?" Logan interrupted, seeing that already Olivia looked

overwhelmed. Her gaze was down cast to the concrete and she was hiding behind her hair again. He frowned, his black eyes staring down Remy accusingly.

"Good judge of character, mon ami?" Remy asked, shoving his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "Seems to me she's just goin on one mans opinion a'Remy."

Logan stepped forward aggressively, the muscles in his shoulders tensing. "I got good reason to warn her about the likes a you, bub! I'm not gonna have you toy around with her and hurt her like you did Rogue!"

Something about Logans accusation changed the entire atmosphere of the parking lot, and Olivia took a few uncertain steps away from the two. It was though gravity itself had grown heavier. Remys easy cheerfulness had evaporated, leaving him in a seething and dangerous silence. His eyes began to radiate a red glow, his lips down turned in a deep frown. Logans claws began to slide out, and a card appeared between Remys bare and gloved fingers, glowing.

"Y'gonna back outta business that's ain't yours, couillon?" Gambit hissed in warning, lifting that glowing card up threateningly.

Logan crouched a bit lower, his voice as cold and steely as the metal that coated his bones, "Til I get her back to the school safe and sound Olivia IS my business."

"And my relationship with Marie is mine!" Gambit shouted back!

Olivia knew this couldn't go on. The MAA was still in the area and this was exactly the kind of fuel they would love to have to sprinkle on their cause! Plus, if members of the picketers were here now instead of at Xaviers, they may be dispersing for a break which meant the time to go was now! She got in front of Logan, not in the least afraid of the poised claws he had at the ready. She put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him to back up.

"Logan, this isn't the time or place for a grudge match. Two members of the MAA tried to make me sign a petition in the bathroom. If they have members here who were protesting today, then maybe they've broken up enough at Xaviers for us to make our way through."

His eyes darted to hers, and then back to Remy who was smirking in victory. He went to move forward again, but that gentle pressure from her hands soothed him into submission. She had a good point, and ignoring it would just put her in further danger. The day had been long and hard though, and he still felt the simmering rage over Wolfsbanes death fueling the anger he was experiencing now. He wanted an outlet, and Remy looked just too appealing with that smug smirk on his lips. He imagined he could cut it off with one well aimed swipe.

"Logan. Please." Her voice entreated, "I just want to go somewhere safe."

Just like that he straightened back up and looked down at her, his claws going back into hiding.

Gambit looked at the two with shrewdness. They had both been ready to throw down, the mounting tension between them over what had happened with Rogue not easy to ignore, but at Olivias plea the Wolverine had been able to bury it for the moment. It was incredibly revealing. Gambit didn't think for a moment that anyone could control Logan. Everything that man did had to be his own choice at the risk of earning his resentment, but this little woman had made him come to the rational conclusion on his own, bypassing the inevitable bitterness from the man and earning herself a gaze that Remy easily translated as one of barely concealed affection. His red eyes narrowed quizzically. Interesting. Maybe his words about Logan trying to avoid competition for Olivia wasn't so far fetched after all.

"We'll discuss this at a later time, d'accord?" Gambit said as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. The phone number that Chrissie had given him earlier was in hand, glowing hotly under his touch. He used it to light the cig, and with a flick of his thumb, the paper soared over his shoulder and disintegrated with a soft pop."In d'meantime, how we get back into the mansion? Scaling d'fence wouldn't be tricky but I don't relish the thought of leaving my bike where the protesters can deface her."

Logan gave a snort of agreement, his arms crossing over his chest as he gave the predicament some thought.

Remy looked back to Olivia who was moving a pebble on the concrete with the toe of her very well worn in boots, eyes downcast.

"Them eyes a'yours sure are pretty, belle." He said before drawing on his cig. "You should keep your chin up so the world can see em."

Logan was ready to curse at Remy for carrying on, but as he spoke, he found he agreed even though the words made Olivias head dip lower into hiding.

"He's right about that at least, Liv. You shouldn't go around hiding them."

"Oui, be proud of what makes you unique, chere." Remy continued, "You dun see Remy hiding his, now do you? And my own ain't nearly so lovely."

"Your eyes? That's a matter of opinion." She remarked, tucking her hair behind her ear. Logans jaw twitched subtly at the remark.

"Merci, m'belle." He murmured graciously, "Not everyone agrees though." He brushed his bangs away from his forehead and bent lower so she could get a better look at his eyes, which held her own unashamed. "These eyes earned Remy the name Le Diabla Blanc where he comes from. It means The White Devil. I doubt that with eyes like your own, you'd earn such an infamous title."

With him leaning this close Olivia could see why such a name was given to him. His eyes had been the first thing she had noticed about him and in her own mind had even likened him to a devil, but not out of fear. The devil after all was a master of temptations, a skill that he and this cajun mutant had in common.

She blushed and dipped her head again, replying. "It'd be hard to do. Sense I mutated it's been a dead give away about what I am. I'd rather avoid the confrontations."

"Or maybe you're missing out on opportunities to meet your own kind, you thought of that?" Logan asked, his eyes darting to the sun. They'd have to get moving soon if they were going to get her indoors before the sun went down.

"I guess so." She relented with a shrug, not entirely convinced.

Gambit snapped his fingers suddenly, "Voila, got it! We call d'prof and ask Storm to conjure up some bad weather! The protesters disperse, we get inside tout de suite!"

"Assuming that some rain and lightning will make them go home." Wolverine said, but from the look on his face he was seriously considering the idea. "What do you say Darlin, willing to get a little wet in order to make it home?"

"I don't mind a little rain." She assured with a smile.

"With Storm brewin it," Gambit said, "it'll be more than a little rain, chere."

Olivia had never been the type to ask the obvious question. If she didn't know a detail, she'd prefer to stay quiet and let the answer come to her eventually rather than bog others down with her ignorance. So it was when they brought up Storm. She was sure she'd figure out who this was when they returned to the institute.

"You can ride with me, if you'd enjoy the change of scenery." He offered, earning himself a sneer from Logan, which only made him grin wider. "My bike is parked up front."

This instantly caught Olivias attention, her passion for riding motor cyles overriding her shyness and making her conversation come easier. "You have a bike, Gambit?"

Remy looked very pleased at her eagerness, and swept his hand in the direction of it. "Oui, come see her! I'd even be inclined to let our sweet Twilight drive!"

She was deeply and sorely tempted, her attention shifting for Remys sparkling ruby gaze to the area his hand gestured to. She looked back to Logan who had just pulled his phone out to make the call, about to ask if that would be alright when she saw his expression. His lips were set in a straight unreadable line, his brows lowered and darkening his eyes in displeasure. He was looking elsewhere as he lifted the device to his ear but she could feel his soured mood like she could feel the sun beating down on her from above. He had given her a fair warning about Gambit, and so far, she hadn't done a very good job on following through on her reassurances to him. She couldn't sure that was the source of his moodiness, but it wouldn't hurt to keep to her word and stuck with riding with him.

"Thanks but I think I'll stay with Logan." she said as she turned back towards him. "We've come this far together, I'd like to finish it up together too."

Logan had been listening with mounting irritation to Gambits offer to Olivia, and knowing her passion for bikes, he had fully expected her to check out this new one. After all, that slippery cajun made it hard for girls to refuse him. It had rankled him bad, so bad he had to distract himself with calling the professor to enlists Storms help. Then Olivia had surprised him, refusing the invitation in favor of himself. His eyes darted to Remys, and the two locked in a stare. Logan smirked.

"Sure darlin, hop on." he said, patting the seat behind his just as the professor picked up. "Hey Chuck, we've got a plan."

Gambit wasn't quite sure how to take this. Usually he'd bow out gracefully and saunter over to his ride with ideas for further opportunities filing away in his mind, but this situation was very different and not for the usual reasons. He knew he'd have ample chances to get Olivia alone at the mansion in days to come, stolen moments away from Logans protective gaze but this ride had meant- Remember d'plan and remember whats at stake, he reminded himself. Maybe if he pressed just a little more before letting it go for another time.

"I'm sure Logan ain't opposed to sharing your company, Livia'." He drawled charmingly, catching her wrist in his hand and fully intending on twirling her back towards him. Nothing disarmed a lady more than being spiraled suddenly into his arms, after all.

What happened next had his jaw hanging open slightly, his cheek throbbing hotly and ears ringing from a resounding slap. He stared down at the girl in shock. Had this timid little filly really just slapped him? He was ready to ask what the hell that had been for when he saw that glazed unfocused look in her wide as saucer eyes. Her face had a sickly pallor to it and trembles vibrated her body in his grasp. Even the violet of her eyes had dulled.

"Livia'?" He asked cautiously, only to watch her pull her hand back to strike again. "Whoa-whoa!" He reached out and grabbed her other wrist to stop her, squeezing them both firmly to keep her from hitting again. "Easy now, this ain't no way to behave!"

Logan had been telling the professor about how Storm played into the plans for Twilights arrival when he saw the altercation between the two. Gambit had reached out and tried to stop her from heading to his bike, likely only wanting to try and talk her into changing her mind when every muscle in Olivias body went rigid and she lashed out at him with an open palm. For a moment, Logan wanted to applaud the girl! Hell, she'd smacked the cigarette clean out of his mouth and left him gaping at her in shock, but as she raised her hand to strike again and Remys fist closed around the assaulting appendage Logan knew this wasn't what it seemed. He'd done something and Olivia was suffering a flashback.

"Dammit Cajun," He howled, "**Let her go**!"

The phone was dropped, forgotten on the pavement, and he rushed forward. Olivia was thrashing and screaming now, choking on sudden sobs, and Remy did all he could just to hold her hands at bay to keep her from landing any more blows! He reached them in only a second and ripped Gambit away from her by the scruff of his trench coat, depositing him on the gravel! The stench of fear was so thick in the air around her that Logan could smell nothing else, and once Gambits grasp was off of her, she still flailed wildly at him. The cajun forgotten, he scooped Olivia up in his arms and took the blows she offered without flinching.

"Shhhh, it's okay Darlin!" He tried to soothe urgently, "Shush, you're safe! _No ones_ gonna hurt you!" He cast a murderous glance to Gambit as he tried to calm her down, wishing he could just shove his claws up that meddling Coonass' shit hole.

"I didn' do nothin Wolverine!" Remy shouted defensively as he got up. "She just started-"

"Didn't the Professor tell you what happened to her?" Logan shouted viciously over her cries, "That you had to be on your best damn behavior? Well this is why you jackass! You have no god damned sense and now you set her off!"

Gambit clawed his fingers through his mussed up bangs, looking agitated. "No ones got a map of where the land mines are buried Logan, how's I'm supposed to know what'll do it, eh?!"

"You sure as hell don't touch her!" Logan barked back with his teeth bared. "Get back to the mansion, I'll take care of her myself!"  
A slew of french curses tumbled slickly from Remys lips, his trench coat flapping around his legs as he turned and headed towards his bike. Well that hadn't gone well. He could still hear her crying and Logan trying his best to snap her out of whatever strange trance she was in. As he straddled his bike and took out a fresh cigarette, he touched his struck cheek. He didn't like thinking that he was leaving Twilight now after he'd triggered this episode of panic, but he knew even if he stayed to try and help Logan wouldn't let him. _So much for the plan_, he thought bitterly, _at least for now_. He knew though that the plan wasn't so important at the moment as Twilights well being, and he resolved that in the future he would tread much more carefully around her. He wouldn't be able to get close and earn her trust otherwise. Still... He glanced back in the direction he'd left them, the building obstructing his view. She seemed like a nice girl. Rather average looking aside from those perplexing eyes, a bit naive, and more than a little docile, but nice. Worriedly he blew a slow breath of smoke from his lips. _Throw the walls up LeBeau, you won't be able to do your job if you let her in._

He finished his cigarette and made the butt of it glow red before tossing it away. It hit the pavement and blew apart. He had to stay focused. Leave Olivia to Logan for now, but in the days to come, he knew who'd be sweeping her off her feet for the greater good of mutant kind. He pulled out his cell phone, and with his thumb dialed out a text message.

_**I need more time.**_

He hit send.

-

"I'm sorry," She repeated again as Logans bike slowed at a stop light.

"Stop apologizing, Liv, those things happen after what you've been through." He was getting tired of hearing it honestly. So she'd had a bad flashback, if he'd had a nickle for every time he'd had one he'd be pretty well off. "The prof will probably want to see you about it though and see if he can help you learn to control them. He's been after me for the same reasons."

"Does it help?" She asked.

"Probably," He shrugged as he confessed, "I haven't let him yet."

She chided, "Logan-"

He rolled his eyes, "Get off my back, I'll do it when I'm damn ready."

There was a moment of quiet from her before she straightened up, letting him go completely and leaned back in the bitch seat. He felt her quirky smile on the back of his head, and he looked back at her with a playful grin that made her heart flutter. Why that cheeky little-

"Alright, I changed my mind," He purred, resisting the urge to tug her back into place himself, "get back on my back."

She happily scooted forward and once more put her arms around him.

"Minx." he chuckled as the light finally turned green.

He felt a purr in his chest as her fingers began to play with his dog tags, enjoying her warm presence pressed to his back. It was somehow easy to smile when they were like this and after so long a stretch of having little to smile about it was a nice change. Bike rides usually helped him clear his head of lifes unpleasantries but with Olivia sharing it with him there was a calming rightness to the experience. He used to imagine taking Jean out for rides on his bike for exactly this reason. He was almost sorry that their journey was coming to an end now. Yes, she was finally here and he and the others would be able to help her, but he knew he wouldn't get as much one on one time with her. She'd have classes, training lessons, and people she would befriend to steal her time. He wondered if this chemistry between them would grow into something greater or slowly fizzle out leaving him wondering 'what if'.

Then there was the knowledge that she'd be around a ton of other people that didn't know what had happened to her and had no business to know. There were boys who'd be after that 'one thing' that young men wanted. He had to force back a growl and remind himself that he couldn't protect her from everything, and besides, she was a young woman who had already been raised. All he could do is teach her to be strong. Hopefully, that would be enough to help her achieve some mental balance.

Around a bend in the road the impressive sight of Xaviers school for Gifted Youngsters came into view. Acres of well manicured land and forestry adorned the property, and in its center was the giant mansion that had been converted into a place of education. It was an old building of intricate hand lain stone work, latices strewn with creeping ivy and four stories of dorm rooms, class rooms, offices, and many secrets hidden from the prying eye. The elegant front steps of the building met the curve of a circular driveway, the center of which was adorned with a fountain featuring a carved angel blowing a trumpet.

The scene was a masterpiece, earning an awed sound from Logans passenger. He smiled, slowing the bike to a stop. The front gates were just ahead, and he already saw the cars and trucks parked along the roadside with a crowd in front of the wrought iron gates. The scrolling metal that decorated the top formed what looked like vines in a circular pattern and in the center was a bold 'X'. One of the picketers had hung a defaced and deformed doll in a noose from it. At the moment, the picketers were throwing expired fruit at it.

"It's not always like this?" Olivia asked, an arm curling around his belly as she leaned to the side to observe the scene.

"No." he said roughly, not liking what he was seeing. "There was a time when no one even knew mutants lived here, it was pretty damn peaceful."

She stood, resting her chin on his shoulder as her eyes surveyed the scene. "I wish I could stop them somehow..."

"We all wish we could Darlin." He murmured, ever so slightly leaning his head to the side so that their temples touched. "But if we lash out in any way it just feeds their cause. We're not here to cause trouble, and we've gotta prove it."

Olivia sighed musically as his head touched her own, her eyes closing to savor the offered tenderness. "Didn't you already prove it being here so long with out them knowing?"

"They overlook that detail. They see what they want to see." He turned his face slightly, eyes closing as he took a moment to try and get a good strong lung full of her scent. She still smelled like the two of them, his soap on her skin, and he committed it to memory in case he never had the chance to smell it again.

Olivia took a slow deep breath as Logan turned his head, his nose brushing over her cheekbone and dragging back towards her ear. Her body tingled in awareness, her lashes fluttering closed as he inhaled deeply against her skin. Her arms which were still around him grew a little nearer, a little dearer, and a little more intimate.

"Logan..." she whispered as he nuzzled her gently, feeling like the humidity in the air had thickened considerably.

"You smell good." He explained throatily before he took another deep breath through the nose. Damn that scent was addicting.

She sighed and remained still, letting him take it in as he desired. Her hands curiously let themselves explore the solid flesh coated steel of his chest, earning her a pleased growl from the man she petted. She had wanted to do this so many times on their drive, to explore this man and feel the ridges and dips on his muscled chest and belly but propriety had held her back. Now though, with him taking liberties with her, the urge to reciprocate became too strong to ignore.

As much as he enjoyed feeling her little hands on him, her innocent explorations were quickly stirring a need to take things further, an urgent tightening sensation in his loins alerting him that they had reign themselves in.

He lifted his large hand up to her head and pressed a kiss to her cheek, his facial hair making her giggle.

"Gotta stop this Darlin." He warned huskily. "I'm only a man after all."

Catching his meaning, her hands stilled and she nodded obediently. Her cheek still tingled from his kiss, and on impulse, she turned her head to press one of her own above the bush of his side burns. She lingered for the barest of moments before withdrawing.

Their hands simultaneously reached for one anothers as she sat back down behind him, their fingers entwining like the bodies of lovers. Logan looked up to the heavens for a moment, squeezing her fingers with his own. God help him, this girl wasn't ready for the passions of a man like him, but with things going as they were, those passions were only going to grow stronger. He hoped he could practice patience enough to take things at the pace she needed, and God only knew patience wasn't his best attribute.

She rested her head onto his back, enjoying the closeness that him holding her hand like this provided. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this way if she had ever even felt this way at all. Her thumb stroked his hand, feeling the hair of his knuckles under the sensitive pad. Her heart felt so full and heavy, like it might burst with the emotions she was starting to feel. She smiled in delight and hugged him with her free arm.

Logan pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit the speed dial for the mansion. The line picked up. "Hey, we're ready for Storm out here."

The professors voice assured, "Stand by Logan!"

Imediately clouds began to gather, blotting out the sun with a thick blanket of grey. Logan smiled and hung up.

"Get ready and hold on." He warned her, bringing the hand he held back around him.

She obeyed, her eyes drawn skyward in wonder at how quickly and unnaturally the clouds had gathered. It had been sunshine and clear blue heavens just a moment before, and now- The dark skies were split in half with an enormous bolt of lightning, the thunder cracking like a whip seconds before the rain fell sudden and hard to the earth. Olivia and Logan were drenched instantly, as were the picketers at the gate. Exclamations and cries rose up from them, many trying to use their signs to keep them dry, but the flimsy cardboard was soggy and disintegrating under the merciless pummeling of heavy rain. They began to run for their vehicles, abandoning their ruined banners and scrambling for shelter.

"Now!" Logan said, opening the throttle and bulleting towards the gate.

As though on cue the mighty metal bars began to open, just wide enough to admit them. Olivia held on, her eyes squeezed shut as she clung to him. Logan was intensely focused. The mission was almost complete, Twilight almost delivered into the safe hands of the Xavier institute, but the tread of his bike was far too lubricated with rainfall to get proper traction on the pavement. He had to be careful. If he wiped out he'd walk away no sweat but the same couldn't be said for Olivia!

With their mouths wide open in surprise, the picketers watched, having dispersed just enough for the mutants to safely slip by them and onto mansion grounds. Unexpectedly, another bike and rider zipped through the opening right behind them barely grazing by as the gates closed, safely shutting them off within school grounds. Logan turned the bike sharply, hydroplaning into a skidding stop.

The rain began to lighten and the clouds evaporated into nothingness, leaving the sun to once more shine down on and dry the three, that is, while it was still overhead. Within the hour it'd be setting. It was time to get inside.

Remy tugged the helmet from his head as Olivia slipped off of the bike. Her long brown hair stuck to her neck and face in clumps, her black camisole and lace tank top saturated to the point she might as well not be wearing anything at all. It clung to her body, her bra boldly visible and her cold hardened nipples pressing against the fabric. Her curves were plain to see, each and every one. Olivia modestly crossed her arms over her chest, blushing and hoping that neither men had noticed the state she was in, but the way the southern devil was grinning, he had most certainly noticed. A second later Logan dropped his jacket over her shoulders, her body dwarfed within it. Yeah, he'd seen it too but he had the fortitude not to stare at her.

"Too bad, chere." Remy said with his brows risen high in approval, "Remy starting to think you're tryin to hide more than those eyes a yours."

Logan unstrapped his bag from the back of his bike and leered at him in warning. "Wipe the drool off your chin Gumbo. I believe you owe her an apology."

"No, he doesn't." Olivia said, holding a hand up while the other held Logans jacket closed. Hesitantly, she met Remy's eyes and he met her stare evenly. "I need to appologize, Remy. I didn't know where I was for a minute there. I thought I was trying to hit someone else."

"I still say he wasn't careful enough." Logan muttered, but said no more as Olivia went on.

"When I was...attacked," she explained carefully, "they had grabbed me by my wrist." She bit her lip for a moment. "I'm sorry Remy. I never meant to hit you."

Guilt twisted deeply in Gambits gut, wincing away from looking at her as she spoke. Something as simple as taking her wrist had snowballed into something he could have never guessed. She had relived for a moment a horror beyond his knowledge because of him being thoughtless, and here she was apologizing to him with such sadness in her eyes?

"No..." He murmured humbly, "No, chere, I'm sorry. Remy was indiscreet and too bold." He slowly walked over to her, the heavy metallic thumping of his armored boots against ground filling the air. He offered her his hand. "Shall we start over?"

She looked at his offered hand, the leather covering his index and middle finger and leaving his pinkie and pointer exposed. It was such an inviting gesture that reached through his entire posture, from the bend of his waist and the prooffered hand to the welcoming glint in his red eyes. How could she refuse? She slipped her hand into his, surprised when he lifted it to his lips. His mouth fell to her knuckle at her concession, lingering there while he gazed through his auburn locks at her.

"Merci, chere. I am Remy Etienne LeBeau, and you are?"

Against her better judgement, she found herself taken in by the gesture, even while knowing he had done the same thing to the woman at the burger king. she couldn't help it. No one had ever treated her this way before, and it made her feel so alive and special even though she looked about as appealing as a wet cat! Heaven help her, she wasn't sure what else to do but say, "Olivia Anne Fitzgerald."

"Liv." Logan said, to his relief breaking the tension between them. The Professor and Storm were already waiting by the front door to welcome her. He pointed to them and urged, "Go on up, I'll be right there."

He patted her upper back as she passed him, and he locked stares with Gambit, a challenge in his eyes.

Waiting until she was out of earshot, Gambit said smokily, "You layin some sort of claim, mon ami?"

"Maybe." Logan admitted without worry, "I want you to stay away from her."

"Afraid she might come to like Remy better?" the cajun jabbed coldly.

Logan stepped closer to him, "I'm not playin Gumbo. I held my tongue with Marie but Twilight is different." he held up his fist in warning. "If you do somethin to hurt her, if you make her cry, if you give her reason to think you're into her when you're not, all bets are off and your hide in mine to skin alive and trust me bub, I'll make it hurt!"

Not many people could look into the eyes of the Wolverine with threats like that on his tongue and remain visibly unshaken, but Gambit stared him down with confidence bordering on the cocky.

"N' if Remy ain't playin?" He proposed smoothly.

The idea of Remy being earnestly interested hadn't been an idea that Logan had entertained, but being faced with it here, he felt venom flowing through his body fiercely!

He grabbed the collar of Gambits trench coat, bringing them nose to nose so that he could taste his breath and he hissed, "You better make_ fuckin_ sure you're not. Because I _will_ kill you, Gambit. _I will kill you_!"

With a flicker in his hot red eyes, Gambit just grinned. "You, Wolvie, are welcome to try."

**Read and review, dear readers. Until next time, adieu! **


	10. Arrival

**You my friends have been so amazing! So many new watches and new reviews I'm bursting with gratitude! Thank you to zuzzzu,**

**DemontaDark, Tigerlilli123,Liinaa B, AnimeFreak1298, spiritofawatergoddess, Joneskey, Bricklyn, ,23, tarrrajane, ciarra halle, and feral-kuga for their favorites and watches! You guys are the best and it makes me so happy that you enjoy my story enough to follow it!**

**Now to reply to you reviewers!**

**Jinx of the 2nd law- Thanks hunni! I wasn't exactly trying for jealousies, not yet, I was trying to convey Logans protectiveness. I may have to change my strategy in depicting it, or just go for the jealousy vibe altogether! Thanks for the review, as always :D**

**Rainbor- Heh, dunno who to route for? Well, just wait, maybe you'll make up your mind soon!**

**ALRose- Your review blew me away! I'm rather picky myself about original characters and what I find enjoyable. Knowing you are not usually a fan and yet enjoy my work is a compliment so high I hardly know how to thank you for it! I will still say thank you, but only because I can't think of any combo of words stronger than that of heartfelt thanks! Please stay in touch, I'd love to know what you think!**

**Guest- Thank you :D**

**In this chapter a small mystery is revealed regarding Olivias much mentioned 'Maestro'. I'm afraid I tried to dress this chapter up as best I could but it's unfortunately more of the usually meet and greet a character gets when arriving at the X-mansion. I hope you guys can enjoy it in spite of it's lack of luster. The next chapter should be far more interesting and will introduce more characters from the franchise! I'd like to give a gentle poke to you readers to tell me what you think, good or bad, about what's going on. If I'm doing something wrong, tell me, I won't bite :)**

**Enjoy!**

As the Professor had promised, Olivias arrival at the school took place with a great amount of discretion. The students had been gathered in the rec room by Jean Grey with the purpose of supporting each other over the death of Rahne, which left the majority of the mansion vacant for the new ward to be brought in in peace.

Professor Charles Xavier turned out to be a wheel chair bound man, finely dressed with a warm and polite countenance. He was bald with empathetic eyes as blue as the sky. When she looked into them, she felt instantly welcomed and sensed his genuine goodness.

He introduced her to Storm, or Ororo, who was easily one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen! She was tall with hair as white freshly fallen snow, which was a contrast to her flawless cappuccino toned complexion. She wore an elegant flowy wrap about her perfect hourglass shaped body and carried herself with incredible poise. Her expression, much like the professors, was one of welcoming warmth.

They both shook her hand in greeting, expressing that they were glad she had made it there safely.

The process of admittance was surprisingly painless and devoid of stress, to Olivias gratification. After providing her with a change of clothes, which consisted of sweat pants and a sweatshirt emblazoned with the schools signature 'X', Xavier had welcomed her into his office with Storm and Wolverine to explain to her what the school was offering. An education, training for her powers, and psychiatric help for what the professor called Post Traumatic Stress. To her amazement, he had many options available to help her, including a scenario where the telepath linked minds with her and isolated the memories that constantly resurfaced, placing them at a more manageable 'distance' so they interfered less with her life at present. He did say that would be a last resort if sheer effort and counseling proved ineffective.

To Olivias shock, she was informed that she would not be charged for the services they would render. Storm had smiled in refined amusement as she explained that many at the school were penniless runaways and considering the Professors many lucrative investments he could afford the charity on behalf of mutants in need. To this, the wheel chair bound man simply smiled with a natural and far reaching kindness that instantly endeared the man to Olivias heart.

How one man could so selflessly dedicate his life and fortune in this way was a very clear and bold example to her. He opened the doors of his home to her, would help her complete high school, and help her learn how to cope with the abuse she had endured at the hands of her former classmates. She sat there on the plush sofa in his office and cried heartily. Logan had said the school would be a safe place for her, but now she realized how much more it was. These people were changing lives on a daily basis, had sent for her to be delivered from the hands of a madman, were opening their doors and inviting to be one of them!

There was a decent stack of papers for her to sign and Xavier explained patiently the purpose of each and every one. She signed them all feeling confident in what she was doing. This was where she was meant to be right now.

There was one last thing though as her induction drew to a close, and she had to ask it and brave what the answer may be.

"There's something else, sir. I understand that you sent Logan to save me from that man up in Messena." Her hands grasped at her knees as she pushed on, "Who was he? Do you know what he wanted?"

The Professor and Storm both exchanged looks of worry, obviously weighing how to approach this subject.

In the end, it was Xavier who spoke, leaning forward onto his deck over the freshly signed papers. "His name is Nathaniel Essex, or as mutants refer to him, ."

? She would have thought the name to be a creepy choice for a mutant to done, but having seen the man, having looked into the bloody pools he had for eyes, she found that the title was very fitting.

"We're still working on the case, Miss Fitzgerald, and we discovered it might have something to do with your genetics."

Storm nodded, actually smiling a little, "Twilight, Hank scoured over your registry information and though he wants to do a little more testing, he believes you have an advanced X-gene."

Logan, who had been standing against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, spoke up with sudden interest, "Which is?"

"Mutants have many classifications," Xavier began, "Alphas, Betas, and so forth until you reach that of the Omega class. To have an advanced x-gene is to mean that your mutant abilities cannot yet be classified because your mutation has the potential and ability to develop far beyond what it is currently. Today, you may suit the qualifications of a Delta mutant, being unable to completely control your abilities which are not deadly, but in time it is quite possible to reach a higher classification, possibly even that of Omega class."

Logans brows were risen as he took this in. Little Olivia with an ability to become invisible had the potential to become an Omega class mutant? He looked at her sitting there her gaze suddenly lifting up to his own as if for him to weigh in on his thoughts. DId she really have such untapped potential. He had to know more.

"Alright, so why does Hank think this is the case?" He asked, "From what I've seen Olivia has a neat gift but she can't control it yet."  
The Professor gestured to Olivia as he spoke, "Her powers are still new. She doesn't yet understand their nature, but after going over her documentation and taking in what you yourself have told me about her mutation, it appears that her powers are central around the presence and absence of sunlight. We will have to observe her using her abilities and document what we find but judging from her dna and the fact that it is sunlight that effects her power so, well," He turned and smiled at Twilight once more, "It appears that Miss Fitzgerald will be further evolving."

Olivia had sat through all of this in relative silence, stunned by what they were implying. The idea of herself being powerful was ludicrous to her ears! She had always been this meek shrinking little nobody! She laughed in disbelief, earning the stare of the rooms other three occupants.

"Something funny, Liv?" Logan asked with a risen brow.

"It's just that...well, look at me!" Her eyes welled up with wetness, "There's never been anything special about me, and the only thing I can do well I won't be able to do now that I'm a mutant! There's no way what you're saying can be true! Even if I have this advanced x-gene you're talking about I'm never going to be-"

"Cut that out!" Logan ordered with an authority that made her silence right away, looking over at the man in docile surprise. He looked angry as he said, "I'm not gonna stand here and listen to that crap! First of all, you're a mutant, that doesn't mean that your dreams of singing are nothing, it just means you're gonna have to work harder! And secondly you're not a scientist, you don't get to decide what your dna says about you! The only reason you'll fail or never progress is because you're attitude won't let you succeed!"

She sat there, stunned. She was used to questioning herself and putting herself down, but she had never thought it would be the reason she wouldn't achieve her goals and aspirations. Her father had always been quick to point out when she failed at something, and maybe it was that constant reminder of her failings that had made her do it even when her father wasn't around. She recalled as well that her Maestro had the same complaint about her utter lack of confidence.

She bowed her head and let Logans words sink in, but Logan as he watched her reaction, regretted the harsh manner in which his criticism was delivered. He rubbed his hand over his face , his eyes squinted shut as he tried to clear his mind of more of his impulsive speech.

Olivia broke the silence, forcing herself to move on, "What about this x-gene is making Sinister single me out?"

The Professor sat back slowly, and from his body language it was obvious that he didn't know. "It is indeed conjecture."

"We have yet to figure this out." Storm said, but then reassured, "But as it was of interest to us, we assume it might be of interest to him."

"But there's a chance it might not." Logan countered, his hands on his jean clad hips as he turned in mounting irritation. "So we really don't know shit, do we."

"I'm afraid not." Xavier said with a sigh. "Essex has definite plans in mind, plans he has put in motion and needs Miss Fitzgerald for but his intentions are beyond my grasp..."

Storm interjected tactfully, seeing that Logans temper was starting to get the better of him, "What matters is that his initial attempt to secure you failed Twilight and you're here now, and safe."

"Indeed." The Professor agreed, smiling once more. "and we will continue to investigate, but for now Miss Fitzgerald, welcome to my School. I will have a request for your scholastic records sent to your old school to be transferred here. You'll be able to finish your education beginning in September when the new semester begins."

"Thank you Professor," She said, standing as she put on a brave smile, "and you too Miss Munroe. I never imagined I would feel so welcomed here. I just hope answers will come in time." She paused, canting her head to the side as she struggled to say what she had to next. "You...you don't think that he'd come for me while I'm here, do you?"

"Not unless he wants a claws up his ass he won't." Logan declared with confidence.

"It's a sentiment shared by many." Ororo assured with a proud smile as she adjusted her sash. "We protect our own Twilight, you can rest easy. If he comes here for you he'll be dealing with all of us."

At least that was something Logan could be glad for. She'd be safe here, a far cry from being out on her own trying to make it from day to day. He wondered what would have happened to her if all this hadn't happened. If Sinister hadn't abducted her she'd still be out there on her own, hungry and homeless. He lowered his arms and started heading to the door.

"I'll show you to your room, Liv." He said, motioning for her to follow. She gladly stood. "Chuck, where'd you put her?"

Xavier inclined the control stick for his wheel chair and moved out from behind his desk, answering, "I know students are usually in the west wing of the building but seeing as her mutation is triggered by the setting sun I had a room prepared on the east side of the building where the staff is housed. Room 14. I also have had a barricade prepared for her window."

Olivia was beside herself with gratitude, and rushed forward to him, grasping his hand again. "Thank you Professor. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Sir. I can't believe how much thought and consideration you've given to me and I've only been here an hour at most!" Always quick to get emotional, her eyes brimmed with moisture as she repeated, "Thank you!"

Xavier put his other hand over hers, giving them a gentle squeeze as he looked up into her eyes with a heartfelt smile. "You are welcome here for as long as you need. Go and get yourself settled in. I left a pamphlet in your room detailing when meals are served and when training takes place. Try and be punctual."

"Of course." She gave his hand one last squeeze and turned back to Logan who was already walking through the door. She waved goodbye to Ororo and followed him out.

Out in the hallway she followed Logan closely, becoming very aware of how large and extensive the building actually was. When she had come in, the foyer had been stunning, with marble floors, a grand staircase and antique crystal chandelier! Walking the halls with Logan now she noticed the carved woodwork and many doorways that blended so well into them. It was art in it's finest and oldest form. The building had be ancient and carefully preserved.

"I'm going to get lost in here, I know it." She said, looking around in wonder.

Logan nodded, "Yeah, you will, but you'll figure it out." He offered her a reassuring smile. "I can walk you down to the dining room for meals if you want. I don't want you missing them because you can't find your way around."

"That's probably a good idea." She agreed, "This place is so large it's daunting. And it's old too. I bet there's secret passages and corners that no one even knows about."

Well, that was perceptive of her! He nodded, impressed and said, "You're right actually. Chucks family was actually involved in the under ground railroad. They have tons of passages through out the building that he's converted into emergency escape routes in case the worst happens."

She blinked in alarm, mind already racing with possibilities of what that might be, "The worst?"

"Yeah." He gave her a meaningful look. "The world isn't a nice place for mutants right now, Darlin. If people come here looking for trouble, all students are informed and drilled on where these passages are so they can escape."

He watched as she looked away, the revelation dawning in her eyes that even though she was here and was technically safe, there was always danger. He hated seeing her shrink away like she was. She didn't like confrontation, she didn't like danger, this was all just part of her personality and who she was, but what bothered him was that she felt all these things because she was afraid. Always a lingering smell of fear in the air around her, anxiously glancing around as if suspecting someone close by meant to hurt her.

A part of him wanted to put her at ease and protect her himself, but what good would that do her when he wasn't there, and he knew there would be times he'd be gone. He lifted a hand and touched the small of her back to get her attention.

"Hey," He said, stopping her to look down into her sparkling eyes. For some reason they seemed unusually vibrant. Maybe because of all the sunlight she was in today...? "Liv, you know I'm here and you know I'll help you but I can't do the hard work for you. You've gotta fight."

Olivia looked up, falling into his deep dark eyes slowly. "What am I supposed to be fighting?"

There was an unreadable expression on Logans face for a moment, something akin to sadness but falling just short. He put a finger under her chin and lifted it up gently so that she wasn't looking at him past the viel of her eyelashes and curtain like hair. "Yourself, Darlin." He said softly.

Her eyes grew a bit wider, misting over as she understood the deeper meaning of his words. She tried to look away but her coaxed her to keep her eyes on his.

"I mean it Liv." He said, revisiting his words back in XAviers office. "You're gonna have to get this fear of yours under control. Not today or next week but...if you're gonna make it you've gotta be tough."

She shook her head, the tears starting to form. "Logan I don't know how to. They came out of nowhere, I keep feeling like they're still there waiting for me to walk around a corner to jump me again."

"You can't help how you feel, don't be ashamed of that. But you've gotta tell yourself that they are NOT here. They are not in the here and now. What they did was shitty and I know I wanna spill their guts but holding onto the fear isn't gonna hurt them Liv, it's gonna hurt you and keep you from being happy."

She started to cry, those shoulders twitching as she bent her chin low and let them fall. Logan reached out sympathetically and carefully pulled her against him with one strong arm, resting his chin atop her head as he shushed her.

"We're all gonna help you do it Liv." He promised, his fingers pressing into the soft muscle of her back. "Tell me you're gonna fight this? That you don't want to be a victim?"

She'd never thought about it before. She had indeed been the victim of a gross and immoral crime, and she had let herself be sad, had let herself cry, and let herself feel fragile and broken. That's what she had become though, wasn't it? Fragile and broken? She remembered she had broken one of her mothers favorite figurines when she was a child, a boy riding a pony, and she'd spent hours carefully gluing it all back together. When she had presented it to her mother with an apology, her mother picked it up and said with the deepest sincerity, 'I think I like it much better now'. When she had asked her mother why she liked it better with all the cracks and awkward drips of glue on it, her mother replied 'Sometimes when things are broken, they can be put back together even better than they were before'.

She buried her face in Logans chest and slowly slipped her arms around his pillar of a body. Maybe Logan was trying to say the same thing in a way. She was broken apart, the perfect image of the peaceful girl she was shattered to pieces. He was saying it was time to glue herself back together, even if it was just one piece at a time. Maybe if enough time went by with enough effort, she would become better than the girl she used to be.

"Logan?" She asked, her words muffled against his chest.

He shivered a bit as he felt her breath through his shirt, but replied, "Yeah?"

"I need to know something." She shifted against him, her hand sliding up his back and resting between his shoulder blades, afraid of what his answer might be. "Am I...too broken for you?"

Those words caused a mix reaction inside of him. Instinctively he wanted to tell her no, that he was broken too, hell maybe everyone was, that he thought she was damn strong for making it this far, especially on her own. Yet he held it back, knowing that wasn't what she needed to hear.

"What I think don't matter, Liv. You gotta do it for yourself."

She was silent, and he wondered what she could be thinking. He held her a little tighter, subtly letting his nose touch her hair. SHe smelled like rain.

"I don't want to be a victim." She said with finality. "I want to survive. It's bad enough they took my body, they shouldn't take my life too." She squeezed her eyes closed. "Hell, I wanted to that first month on my own. I wanted to die but I was too afraid to. After that I was just too determined to make it and just tried not to think at all."

"You've already won a lot of battles against you, then." He said with a smile. "Don't stop fighting Liv."

She rested her ear over his heart, listening to the soothing swooshes as though it were a metronome to keep rhythm to. She could make music to that sound. Maybe she should.

"Are you still not going to take it easy on me?"

"Not a chance." He reaffirmed as his hand rubbed up against her upper spine, his hand concealed under the hood of her sweatshirt. He had intended to speak honestly with her, and just give her a little comfort, but being so close to her inspired more passionate thoughts in him. He pressed her subtly forward, slowly lowering his head towards her neck. What would she do if he kissed her there, he wondered, eying the pulse point on her neck with sudden want.

She felt his head moving against the sensitive skin, and her heart began to beat a little faster in sweet anticipation. She should be nervous, she knew, but somehow all of her fearful instincts towards men didn't apply to Logan. Perhaps it was what he had done to earn her trust that made her feel so safe with him in such a situation. Slowly, she rose onto her tip toes, that hand on his back coaxing him gently lower to do what he intended, whatever that was. She even bent her neck to the side to admit him access. What would his lips and facial hair feel like against her skin? Her eyes fluttered closed, exhaling his name.

She heard a deep rumble of desire roll in his chest, both his arms around her now as he drew her body a fraction closer. A breathy sound swept past her lips as his nose pressed against her pulse as he had wanted. First there was a nuzzle, gentle and exploratory. Damn, being this close to her there was no mistaking. She had the curves of a woman and she had been hiding them under over sized tank tops! Her breasts were soft against his, her hips flared under his palm, and her waist, which that hand roamed up towards her ribs, was nice and slim. Should he kiss this delectable spot where he hovered? That alluring throbbing vein which carried her very blood from her heart? What would such an act lead to? Sudden carnal images flooded his mind shamelessly. God he knew he shouldn't be thinking of her like this with all she had gone through , but his mind surged with provocative thoughts. With her soft body under his, nude and writhing as he entered her moist secret place and taught her what sex was meant to be like. He already imagined his name being gasped from those pink lips of hers, her hands gripping him as he wildly thrusted into her! He groaned, gripping her a bit tighter as finally gave in and put his mouth on her neck. Olivia trembled in awe, feeling her insides quivering in response of such an intimate touch. She had never felt its equal!

"Ugh, ?" called a voice from the mouth of the hallway.

Shit, Logan swore inwardly, reluctantly letting Olivia go. She stepped back from him, red in the face and startled, staring wide eyed towards the voice.

A girl stood there in stunned silence. She had the most soft looking wavy brunette locks pulled up into a high ponytail and large brown eyes. She had a slim athletic build and wore a trendy yellow blouse and black pants. Currently, those expressive eyes of hers were declaring open disbelief.

"What is it HalfPint?" Logan called grouchily, his mood seeming as spoiled as his moment with Olivia.

Kitty looked from Logan to the newcomer, and then back again. She rose a hand and pointed to her. "Um...who's that?

Olivia was blushing pretty deeply, hiding behind her still damp hair from the girl who had suddenly appeared. How did someone drop in on them so quickly and without so much as a sound?

"Kitty, this is Olivia, she goes by Twilight. Just brought her in from up near Canada. Liv," He turned to his shy companion, elbowing her to go introduce herself. "This is Kitty Pryde, or as we call her Shadowcat."

At his urging, she stepped closer to Kitty and offered her hand. "Hey, it's nice to meet you Kitty."

"Yeah, you too." Kitty replied, the questions still in her eyes. "So um...are you going to be a student here?"

"Looks that way."

"Aaaand...are you and -" She pried before being cut off by the older mans sharp scowl.

"Watch it HalfPint!"

She held up her hands and rolled her eyes as younger teens often do, "Geez okay, it's not like I walked in on you being all clingy or anything!"

"Uh-" Olivia said quietly, attempting to explain away their embrace, "It's been a rough few days. It was friendly hug."

Kitty smirked saucily. "It sure did look friendly!" Logan growled and she added quickly, "But that's none of my business!" She turned to Logan. "We're all gathered in the rec room. We're talking about Rahne and everything that's going on. It's...helping. I heard you came back and I wanted to ask you to come by."

Logan looked down at Kitty and ruffled her hair much to her annoyance. She swatted at his hands. "You know that isn't my kinda thing."

She began to redo her ponytail, grumbling, "Yeah, guess I forgot who I was talking to. Still, most of the staff is there and Jubillee and I really was hoping you'd come."

"I'll deal with it my own way." Logan said firmly. "You go on back. I'm showing Olivia up to her room."

Kitty couldn't help but notice that this new student was on the wrong side of the building. Only instructors stayed in the east wing, that is except for Beast who's room was located between the boys hall and the girls hall to keep things proper, she guessed. She also couldn't ignore the way she'd caught these two together.

She couldn't wait to tell Jubilee about it!

"Alright . See you around Olivia!" Kitty turned and instead of heading down the hall, she ran intangibly through the nearest wall.

"Oh wow..." Olivia murmured in amazement. "She just ran through-!" she shook her head, cutting herself off. "Wow."

"Yeah, she sneaks up on you that way. I guess you get used to it." He looked down at her, regretting the loss of their moment, and then proceeded back down the hallway towards yet another staircase. "You're rooms up top. Classrooms are on the second floor. The kitchen, dining room, rec room and other stuff is on the first."

Olivia followed him, touching her neck where she had briefly felt his mouth. It might have been her imagination, as she wasn't experienced in moments like that, but she had thought something was really building between them. He had made this sound in his chest that had washed her with chills!

_Focus Olivia._

"Is there a basement."

"Several." He answered with a deep chuckle. "You'll see them eventually, but only when your training takes you there."

"Well that's rather cryptic." She said with interest as they began to climb the stairs.

Logan took them two at a time. "It's for the more intense training, Liv. You don't want to head down there just yet."

"Okay, fair enough." She complied, holding her hands behind her back as she hopped up to the first level before following Logan onto the next flight. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask Logan, could I make a phone call?"

This captured his attention, and he looked at her as his brain tried to puzzle out who'd be interested in calling. He only came to one conclusion. "This 'Maestro' of yours?"

She nodded but Logan saw the distance in her eyes. He knew that look having seen it so many times before. She was looking into the past with fondness, at memories and times where this man had been prominent. She missed him.

He agreed, "Sure Liv, as soon as we get to your room, alright?"

They reached the peak of the next flight of stairs where there were three hallways. One to the left, one to the right, and one straight across. He pointed to the left. "Bathrooms are that way. You-" He said, bringing her down the hall right in front of them, "Are here, third door at the top of the staircase down the hall straight ahead on the right."

She was anxious to see her room, and followed Logan down the hall to the end. He opened the door upon reaching it and stepped back so she could go in. With one last glance up at him, he nodded with a slight smile and she went in. The room was beautiful, if not bare. There was old wood paneling that stretched up a few feet to a chair rail with carved scroll work. The walls above were painted a warm beige. She had expected her space to be something akin to a small dorm room, big enough for just a bed and dresser, but this was larger; accomodating a queen sized bed with oak posts, a matching dresser, an oak writing desk with a large ornate silver framed mirror hanging over it and a two bed side tables with elegant silvery lamps with opaque white shades.

For a long moment she just stood in the door way admiring what was now her room, which was easily the same size of her room back home!

"You like it?" Logan asked, leaning in the doorway.

She nodded, walking onto the carpeted floor towards the already fully made bed. She put her hand on it. It was soft, plush, and clean. She even smelled the fabric softener. And the fabrics pattern was stunning! It was white with pearly thread embroidery. Upon closer inspection, they formed sprigs of ivy!

"I didn't expect this much." She confessed as she sat down on the mattress, only to let gravity pull her back onto it. When she spoke next, her voice was thick with emotion. "My god I almost forgot how amazing a bed can feel."

Logan smirked. "You caught a lucky break actually. This room used to belong to Emma Frost. When she left, which I think we're all glad she did, she left a few of the more homey touches. Like the bedspread, the mirror, and the lamps."

"She had really good taste." She sighed, turning her face into the linens to inhale their fresh clean scent.

Logan scoffed disgustedly at that. "Might be all the bitch had goin for her. Least you get to enjoy it now."

"I think I owe Professor Xavier a huge debt."

"Don't be fooled Liv, he's charitable, but he'll cash in on it in his own way." He said as he walked in. Seeing her laying there sprawled so wantonly on that bed was testing his control. "Of course when he asks a favor most people jump at it the chance to show their appreciation. I think its why some of us started being X-men."

"Then I look forward to my turn." She said as she closed her eyes and basked in he comfort of her own space.

Logan bent over and picked up a brown paper bag that had been set by the bed, rummaging through it. "Looks like you should be all set. You got a tooth brush, toothpaste, floss, a brush and comb, some..." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. Apparently Storm had been the one to fill the bag, "lady stuff... some soap and shampoo, deodorant... Can you think of anything you need, right off?"

"A Bible would be nice." she exclaimed as she sat back up, earning an odd look from her companion. She looked confused by it. "What? I 've always been in the habit of reading it."

For some reason he found that her being a big bible reader explained a lot about her. He should have figured she'd been a church mouse back home. She didn't swear, she was well behaved, and she was the meekest girl he'd ever met. Even after being raped the girl still somehow acted virginal, making the sweetest little sounds when he dared to touch her. It was obvious to him when most kids were out on the streets playing with other kids she was with that Maestro of hers taking lessons or at mass with her family.

"Just don't ask me to give you rides to church kid, I've had enough of their shit to last me a ten lifetimes."

For a moment, she just sat there, stunned. Well sure, if he chose not to believe that was his own choice but she couldn't help but feel criticized for having faith herself.

"I won't." She replied softly, and Logan instantly regretted the tone of his words.

"Don't take it like that," He said, trying to skirt an outright apology, "I've just seen the whole of Christendom do some pretty god awful shit. It's turned me off to pretty much everything to do with churches."

Avoiding his eyes, she murmured, "And you wouldn't be wrong. It's just-" She took a deep breath, "Those are the actions of men, not the actions of God, and God is what I believe in, not the presumptuous actions of men."

Logan had to wait a moment for that to sink in. He had somehow taken her being a church goer to mean she was a blind follower, a sheep in a sea of other sheep all being led along with no minds of their own. Obviously he should have given her more credit than that.

"A Bible huh?" He asked again, cracking a smile. "Alright, I'll ask around and see if there's one floating around here."

"That'd be great." She finally looked up at him, meeting his eyes. She felt as though they had come to some sort of understanding.

"Alright then, so this is the last of it." He reached into his pocket. When his hand withdrew, he handed her a flip phone and a debit card. "The Professor insists that all students have a phone on them at all times so staff can reach them. You're obligated to answer if any member of staff calls. They're all programmed and will be IDed when the calls come in so make damn sure you answer." He dropped the phone into her lap, amused as she slowly reached for it in bewilderment.

"I get a phone?" She asked dumbly, flipping it open and turning it on.

"Yeah, try to keep up with this, Liv." He then handed her the debit card. "All students get an allowance. When kids in circumstances like yours come in here they're allotted 200 dollars to get the things they need. You know, clothes, underwear, socks, that sort of stuff. Each student also gets 50 dollars a week provided they keep their grades up and follow all the rules, so look over the pamphlet on your desk. You can use it on whatever you want but Chuck likes to see what its being spent on so save your receipts."

"I get an allowance?" She whispered, still stunned.

"As long as you're a student, and seeing as you were close to finishing high school when you left home you won't be for long. You're gonna have to make your own cash after that."

"You will not hear me complain, it's way more than I ever thought I'd get." Her phone booted up, and she began to scroll through the contacts that were preprogramed. There was a Scott Summers, a Jean Grey, Hank McCoy, Ororo Munroe and the main phone number for the school which was programed as 'home'. She frowned, her expression looking a bit crestfallen.

Logan looked confused at the sudden change in her demeanor. "Something wrong?"

"You're not in here." she said, snapping the phone closed.

"I hate cell phones." He explained, "My fingers are too big for the damn things and I hate people calling me on it."

Her disappointment only became more obvious, and she glanced over to the window. The sun was setting, splashing a medley of intense colors across the sky.

"Well fuck!" he swore harshly, grabbing her phone from her.

She gasped in alarm, protesting, "No Logan, I'm not ungrateful, I swear! I was just hoping I could reach you if I needed you!"

"Yeah, I kinda figured." He muttered as he pulled out his smartphone, swearing colorfully all over again as he struggled to navigate the screen with his too large fingers. He had to look up his own number which he had never bothered to learn because he never gave it out. The only people who had his number was the Professor and Scott, and only because he was leader of the Xmen. Finally locating the digits in question, he began punching them into her phone.

When he was done, he tossed it back in her lap, leaving her dumbfounded.

"Go on, look." He said, before warning, "But don't you dare call me for nothing. If you wanna chat that's the kinda shit you do in person, and don't you give it out to anyone either, you understand?"

Realization shone in her potent purple eyes, and her thumbs hurried to the contacts screen. She scrolled down them, and to her delight, saw a new entry, 'Logan'. Olivia chewed her lower lip as a wide smile split her face in half!

To see her smile so damn big sure made the sacrifice of his phone number worth it, and the way she was chewing her lip and making it plump and red was making his mind wander again! He smiled in satisfaction, arms crossed over his chest.

"Thank you, Logan," Still wearing that room brightening smile she added, "I'd tell you that you're the best but I get the feeling you already know."

"We'll see if you say that after training starts." He turned and headed for the door, intending to leave her to get settled when she suddenly stood and grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Logan. Where's you're room?"

Hot damn he knew it was just an innocent question but imagining why she'd want to know, even if it was just wishful thinking, was driving him crazier.

"Room three." He managed to say evenly, "Not far, just a hallway over." Again, she smiled, seemingly placated by his answer. He rubbed a finger under his nose a moment, debating whether he should tell her the next thing. "Just a warning. Gambit's room is number 7. Do me a favor and remember what I told you, will ya? I know he's got a way with girls but I don't want to see you get hurt."

She had turned back towards her bed and dumped the contents of the brown bag out onto her bedspread. She was taking the items carefully out of their packaging as she replied, "Do you think Gambit would purposely hurt me? Not like today which was an accident, but you know." She glanced up briefly as she freed her deodorant from it's tamper evident wrap. "Actually, hurt me."

Logan hovered where he stood, crossing his arms again. He didn't know how much was wise to tell her, especially because a lot of it really wasn't his business. Hell, let her hear all the rumors on her own from the people who spread him, he'd just give her the blunt truth.

"He's a ladies man Liv, and a damn shameless flirt." He turned and head to the door. "If he gets friendly just try and keep it in perspective."

She had to admit, she had wondered to herself today if any of Remy's flirting had been out of genuine interest. He was so handsome and charming she couldn't help but be effected by him. Still, they had mentioned a girl named Marie who ended up broken hearted over him, and this was Logans second warning about his behavior.

"Okay." She said quietly, giving in. It was hard to keep the disappointment from her voice. "I'll remember that."

He paused one last time in the open doorway, watching her as she struggled to free her toothbrush from its plastic prison. The way she had said that he had no doubt in his mind now that Remy had indeed wormed his slippery self under her skin. She looked genuinely disheartened.

A part of him was starting to brew with jealousy, the part of him that had begun to feel affection for her. Another part however, reminded him of who and what he was and how hard any relationship with him would be on any woman. He was already an old man by technicality. On one hand that made his age versus anothers in a relationship almost meaningless to him. On another, that meant any woman he loved he would eventually out live. No, he didn't love Olivia, not yet anyway, but he wondered if the burden of his past and what a future with him would mean would influence her desire to be with him if things came to that...

...And if refusal to accept those things about him would drive her right into the cajuns waiting arms. God help that boy if he made her love him and he didn't feel the same.

"Hey, Big Guy," came Olivias gentle and calming voice. "You okay?"

That always melodious voice and the use of her nickname for him stroked his inner beast into a calmed state despite the unpleasant turn of his just offered her a departing smile.

"Yeah, fine. Goodnight Liv."

"Thanks for everything Logan. Goodnight."

After all of her toiletries were unpackaged and organized, and after she had broken them all in with a much needed shower, she changed into the sweats that Xavier had given her and layed on her large bed staring at her new phone. She'd already tried dialing the number a dozen times now, but each time she never finished and ended the call in frustration. It had just been so long to be apart from him after being his protege for so many years. Every day there had been rigorous practice from her exacting instructor. Would he be disappointed to know that she had slacked from her vocal training? She sighed and buried her face in her comforter. No, his first concern would be about her safety. She had left without a word by all appearances out of the blue, tossed out into the cold abysmal world where when she was not invisible she might as well have been. Was he aware of what had happened to her? Had her father told him anything, because she was sure he would have visited her parents home in search of her. Had he moved on and found someone else to train?

She shook her head, that thought almost too crushing for her soul to bear. Donovan would never abandon her. He had been her one true friend in life, her teacher and confidant. Surely he was afraid for her safety and anxious to hear any news from her.

Olivia remembered Logan earlier in the day when he had received news of his own pupils death. He had been overcome with rage and sadness, and she felt so helpless to soothe him. To imagine Erik in that same state over thinking she was dead made her take decisive action.

She reached for the phone and at last punched in the only phone number she had ever truly committed to memory. There was silence, then the ominous ringing on the other end of the phone. Pressure built uncomfortably in her heart as she waited until the core of her chest was feeling inflamed in worry.

On the other end, someone picked up, and a familiar voice came on the receiver. It was intelligent, rhythmic, and firm. "Yes, what is it?" He sounded irritated. She must have caught him while composing, she realized with a reminiscent smile even as her lashes gew wet with emotion.

It was hard to form words with the feelings rushing through her being so great. All she could manage through her tightened throat was, "Maestro?"

There was silence as one second ticked by into another and then another. When at last a response came, the hard edge of the mans voice was gone, and all that was left was emotion that rivaled her own. "Merciful god in heaven, Angel, is that you?!"

She cradled the phone to her face as a sob was her only reply. She wept into the receiver, so relieved to hear his voice and him regarding her with his tender nickname for her.

"My god child, where are you?! I'll come get you, just tell me where and I'll leave immediately!"

She laughed through her tears at his willingness to abandon whatever he was doing to retrieve her. She should have known he'd be this way, and all her anxiety about reconnecting with him vanished.

"No, just stay on the phone with me, please. Donovan, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."

"I don't?" He countered, sounding incredibly strict again. "I wait at school for you to perform our lessons and you never show? I go to your parents to find you've been evicted from their house and protection? I practically break down the door of the police station seeking word of you to find you became a mutant suddenly, and to hear what I know those boys had done to my Protege!? My god Miss Fitzgerald do you have any idea the panic and distress you caused me? I searched for you! I called every police station in the state looking for you! I waited by the phone these three months hoping you would come seeking my aid and was met with only silence! Do not tell me I do not know how good it is to hear from you child for I well know it!"

She only smiled. His anger was only evidence of the strength of his feelings, for his words were all spoken of acts of love.

"Go on lecturing me because I've missed it so much. I'll sit on the phone with you for hours of you yelling at me and I'll be happy to hear it."

It was his turn to laugh, his voice affectionate and tender, "Olivia, I'm relieved your hardships have not robbed you of your insight. Yes, I am cross because I was worried. Please tell me where you are."

"I'm at Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters. I just got here this afternoon. I knew the first thing I would have to do is call you."

"I am grateful for that." He sighed, "I know of this school. I actually called there in search of you but was told no one by your name had come across them."

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, her mind a whirl of information. "So much has happened that brought me here..." She whispered. "It's...too much. I want to tell you everything but I don't know if I can."

A cold threatening tone invaded his words, "You mean what was done to you by those damnable boys? I am well aware of their crimes against you my Angel, you needn't feed me details unless you wish my already murderous rage be unleashed upon them!"

"Then...everyone knows?" She asked in despair.

"Everyone was told that you had mutated, and wanted to blame it on those three out of spite and jealousy, for God only knows what reason. It's widely accepted that they were innocent in all things and the subject of slander by a vicious 'mutie'. Believe me, seeing through their weak deception was of great ease. I knew instantly what had really happened."

Having to contend with a fresh wave of tears, Olivia lifted the back of her hand to cover her eyes, teeth clenched as the tears trickled down her temples.

"Please don't cry Angel." He implored with unleashed adoration, "Please come, my home is open to you and it would honor me so greatly to have you so close again. I can come and retrieve you right now if you wish, it's but a few hours drive and I can be there before morning comes!"

"No." she squeaked through tears. "No, I am where I need to be. I need help Donovan, and I really believe in Charles Xaviers ability to guide me right now."

"As do I, knowing of his reputation, but consider please what we have been striving for all these years. I cannot sacrifice all our hard work."

"I don't want to either. But I have to learn to control my mutation before I can do anything else."

"But who will look after you, Olivia?" He asked fervently, "Yes you will learn your gifts and grow, and also I am aware they offer high school education, but what of the sensitive girl I know who needs guidance and understanding?"

She smiled at that, looking to the doorway where she remembered Logan loitering just an hour previously. "There...is someone here who has been looking after me these past couple days. I have a feeling it's going to continue. He promised to help me and I believe him."

"Him?" There was a tension in her teachers voice that could not be disguised.

"Yes, Maestro. Him. His name is Logan."

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone, "I do not know this man or the strength of his character. I'd like to meet him personally to ascertain his worthiness of being your guardian."

"Geez Donovan, it's nothing so formal. He's just looking out for me. Besides, no one can replace you."

"I am gratified to hear that Angel, but my fears will not be laid to rest until I see for myself that you are in capable hands."

Inwardly, Olivia was amused by his choice of words. After all, not many hands had built in claws.

"I swear, I'm safe now. The past three months have been horribly squirrelly and for a while I wasn't sure I would be okay but...I am now."

"My child, why did you not come to me immediately? You could have spared yourself all of the troubles you had to endure! You knew I would house you, feed you, clothe you, you knew I would not forsake you when you were in need so why did you not seek me out?!"

"Oh Maestro," she soothed with a weighty sigh, "Believe me, I wanted to. There was no one I would have gone to but you. But you know my father, and the community we live in. He'd have cried to the authorities that you had me there as some sexual toy and had you arrested just to spite us. Remember I was still 17 when I left."

The angry hiss she heard from him was evidence that he knew she was correct. "That damnable man." He spat, "He would have relished the opportunity to have anything to accuse me of."

Olivia asked, "What of my mother? I knew she didn't really want me to go but you know how tyrannically overbearing my dad can be..."

"She has been unwell, I have heard, the cause of which I am unaware of. It's been going on quite some time I'm afraid. You know how well loved Darlene is, news of her being ill has affected the community greatly."

Worriedly, Olivia gnawed on her lower lip again, her brow furrowed. "If you can...can you keep me posted? I miss my mom."  
"Of course. Shall I relay a message on your behalf?"

"Will father let you?" she inquired worriedly.

"Your father will not know if it, Angel."

She could only smile. "Then tell my Mom I love her, and that I don't blame her for anything that happened."

"Consider it done."

"Thank you." she said, feeling a small weight lifted form her.

"You sound exhausted child."

She closed her eyes and moved the phone to her other ear, pulling a pillow under her head and curling up.

"I am tired. But I miss you, and I want to just listen to your voice. It calms me so much..."

She could almost hear Donovan smiling on the other end, could almost feel his hand coming to rest upon her head as he had done so many times before. "Sing to me?" She pleaded. "Until I fall asleep?"

"Nothing in this world would give me greater pleasure, dearest Angel." He readily agreed, "What would you like to hear?"

"Music of the night?"

"As you wish."

**Until next time, my beloved readers, read, review, and stay tuned!**


	11. Doors

**Welcome back my lovies to another chapter! I'm sorry for the delay, I've been pretty busy in real life and went on a PewdiePie youtube binge, haha! About this chapter, I wanted to highlight something about Olivia** **that very well may annoy and enfuriate some readers. Her indecisiveness. I have to appologise for subjecting you to it, because it's wishy washy and just plain irritating, but it's part of Olivias character and I would be doing you all a disservice if I omitted some of her personality flaws just because I may loose some readers :( I do hope you guys still decide to stick around after all of this. I promise there is a purpose to all of this and considering the amount of character growth I have planned for her, it's important to highlight this flaw early on. Early, you ask? Yes, this story is lengthy and I've only scratched the surface. **

**Also, I want to also assure all of you that I intend to be true and loving to all X-men characters in my story. None will be bastardized for the sake of 'plot development' and even less than savory actions all have their reasons which are steadfastly within the characters personalities. You may not understand some of their actions right now, but it will become clear as the story progresses. I say this for the sake of Gambit, who is my favorite character, and also for Jean Grey, who makes her first appearance in this chapter. I will not be doing character bashing of any sort. I find it rather cheap to do so and have read enough of those kinds of stories to last me a lifetime (mostly in other genres, but I'm sure the xmen franchise has their fair share)**

**Also, I have many thanks to offer out and some comments to reply to, so please feel free to scroll ahead to the story if this doesn't interest you. I feel an obligation to those who take time out of their day to read, fave, follow, and comment on my work. It means so much to me and I never want any of my readers to feel like I take them for granted!**

**Thank you to Crash22244, aphftwb-tches, dragynfyre18, AcaciaDawn105, Shadowsammy, Deathy Baby, Jazica, Rosmund Chadwick, d19dra, Lazensha, tibreezy, booklover7161liongurl369, RiderOfRevenge13149, nkoetsch, and corticarte apa lagranges for the faves and watches on my story :D If I missed anyone, my appologies, and a simple message from you will certainly remedy the situation!**

**Replies to Reviews now! Omg, thank you guys, I am actually getting some feedback and I'm over the moon :D!**

**Crash22244- Thank you so much!Shadowsammy- I'm glad you think so!**

**Rosmund Chadwick- I'm trying very hard to remain true to him! Keep reading, he plays a huge role in this story!**

**Guest- :D Thanks!**

**Rainbor- Oh it'll happen, and it's gonna be fuuuuuun!**

**DING DING DING! A reader labeled guest has put the pieces together! Yes, IS indeed a direct reference to the phantom of the opera! He will be playing a burgeoning role in the story as well, So please keep reading and see what other surprises I have in store!**

**On to the story!**

The following morning Olivia awoke slowly with her phone still tucked under her neck, having fallen sound asleep to the sound of her Maestros voice in her ear. The battery was dead and in need of charging, but in her mind it was worth it for such a placid nights sleep. She stretched like a cat on the crumpled comforter, a contented sigh on her lips. After three months of hell this felt like she was perched atop a cloud just shy of heavenly bliss. Oh where was her harp and halo, she felt so serene!

She smiled, looking out her window at the morning sun, already high in the sky. She must have slept through breakfast, there was no way that it wasn't approaching noon. She made a mental note she would have to get a clock in her room.

She rolled out of the bed and walked over to the writing desk, tugging a piece of paper forward and grabbing a pen. Writing down 'alarm clock' she began to make a list of things she'd need in her room. Underwear and socks followed, as did shaving razors and hair ties. She put the pen down. She knew there would be more to add to the list as the day went on but for now, the things off the top of her head were in writing. She looked over to the debit card sitting on her night stand. She supposed she'd have to get a ride out to get these things and hoped it might be a good excuse to get some time alone with Logan.

Picking up her brush and giving her tangled locks some quick attention, she stared at the door to her room. She'd have to venture out to ask him, wouldn't she? Beyond that simple barrier were people she would have to introduce herself to, people who would want to know why she was there, and already she felt the anxiety rising as she struggled with what exactly she was supposed to tell them. On the other hand, Logan was beyond those doors, and she longed to climb behind him on his Harley again and go off into town.

Setting her brush back down on her dresser she approached her obstacle. That deceptively easy obstacle that with each passing second taunted her weakness. Her hand reached out towards the knob, hesitated with a tremble, and tried again before being dropped back at her side. Making a sound of frustration she walked away from it and began to rapidly pace, gathering her nerve. She could do this! It was just a door! A door that represented the fragile safety of her room and the unknown trials beyond it, a door that kept her from Wolverine, a door that gave her privacy from all those here she didn't know, a door that- God give me strength, she prayed as her thoughts raced uncontrollably, her hands shaking now as she once more reached forward towards the handle. With God all things are possible, I know if I have faith I can do it and I can overcome what holds me back! It's my own self doubt, my lack of confidence, my utter weakness that holds me! I can overcome it! I can be brave! I can!

She couldn't do it and she turned back to her bed, flopping face first on the rumpled comforter with a long high pitched whine of helplessness.

She had always been shy, but ever sense her rape it had festered into something far more debilitating. With ease she could blame those immoral boys for it, but the truth was that she had let it reach this point. It was just easier to avoid people and the stressful interactions that came with conversation. She hadn't thought that withdrawing like she had would make such a seemingly simple task so unconquerable. If she hadn't of indulged in such antisocial behavior then she wouldn't now be struggling to do something so mundane!

With her face smothered in the bed, she turned it slightly to peak at the door with one glimmering violet orb. She was here to get better and to get help. This wasn't a time to shut herself off and further enable her bad habits.

One more time, she prayed, scrunching her body into a tight ball and pleading to God to give her what she needed.

Getting up, she pushed all of her thoughts back, keeping her mind as blank as she could. She walked to the door, depressed the handle, and opened it wide. Without stopping to dwell on her racing heart, she forced herself through it thinking only of her search for Logan.

The hallway was empty to her emense relief, letting her navigate the floor in search of room three. It didn't take very long to find, and being as comfortable as she was with Logan, didn't hesitate to knock when she confirmed in her mind she had the right room. Waiting patiently, she listened for any signs of life in the space beyond. She frowned when only silence met her ears. She knocked one more time to be sure, but indeed, his room was empty.

Olivia supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Logan didn't strike her as the kind of guy who'd just hang around in his room all day. He'd be out and about doing something, keeping his hands busy.

Resigned that she'd have to further acrue boldness to venture deeper in the mansion in search of him, she left his doorway and wandered towards the stairway. She padded down the first flight of stairs, her lower lip firmly clamped between her teeth nervously. He had to be around here somewhere and she just had to keep pressing forward.

The sound of voices on the second floor drew her attention. This was the floor for the classrooms, right? Summer was winding to a close, and school was out, but were there summer classes being held? She ventured down a hall, following the voices. One sounded like it could be Logan, but the other was drifting as though on a butterflies wings, doubtlessly female in nature. Her nerves suddenly multiplied. Could Logan be talking to woman? That in of itself was harmless, wasn't it? She needn't worry about him being otherwise attached, right? After all, he had pressed that sweet but brief kiss to her cheek, there was a fervent tension simmering between them which he surely wouldn't have allowed if his interests were somewhere else!

Again, she couldn't keep her mind from racing, and she had to forcibly keep herself from jumping to conclusions. Rounding a turn in the hall, she saw him, a sight which should have brought her a measure of relief, but didn't. His back was to her, his arm lifted and propped up on a door frame as he spoke to what Olivia could only describe as a startlingly gorgeous redhead. Her eyes were a vivid green, her hair loosely curled and tumbling with impressive length down her shoulders and resting atop the swell of her full breasts. Silver feather shaped earrings dangled against her neck and a necklace to match fell down her low collared shirt and disappeared between her cleavage. Her shirt was a warm burgundy which hugged her slim waist, and a classy A-lined skirt was snugly fit around her long shapely legs which were capped off in a pair of designer heels.

The woman was a creature of grace and sophistication, exuding a far reaching air of calm poise. She was elegant, naturally beautiful, and even her body language conveyed her confident decorum.

In Olivias eyes, this magnificent woman was everything she lacked, and seeing Logan speaking so attentively to her made the girls heart free fall from her throat down into the depths of her bowels. She took a well meaning step back, intending to give the couple some privacy, but watching them was like witnessing a her own emotional train wreck. She simply couldn't tear her eyes away.

"I know it's not just me, Jeanie." His voice came like a rumble of distant thunder, making Olivia wish she could be the recipient of such an affectionate tone. "You can't tell me that there's nothin. I smell it on you."

This 'Jeanie' held his gaze unwaveringly, obviously having great resolve as she spoke, "It doesn't matter, Logan. I made a choice and I'm not going to go back on it. I love Scott."

"I know you want me Jean," He pressed, leaning closer to her as he spoke. "Hell if I haven't made it clear I want you." Olivia watched closely as his free hand wandered up and caressed her hip. The woman just smiled, a little color on her cheeks but seeming vastly unaware of how lucky she was to receive such a touch. "I gotta try, just one more time! I know we'd be good together!"

"I can control my urges, Logan." She said evenly back, "And that's all they are. Urges. There's nothing deeper at work between you and me."

The arm braced over her head tensed, and his fingers closed in a fist. Even from where she stood, Olivia could feel how deeply the womans words effected him.

"Not for me, Jeanie. It's not just urges. Dammit," His fist thumped the wooden door frame over her head. She didn't even jump. "I can be a better man to you than him."

"I married him." Jean explained patiently. "I'm sorry Logan." She smiled with a degree of affection. "The flirting was fun, and you're a great guy. You're just not my guy."

There was a defeated slump to those massive shoulders of his and Logan turned his face away from her. Jeans clear emerald gaze shifted slightly to his right, and stared knowingly into Olivias, freezing the girl in place. There was no surprise in the redheads mannerisms at seeing her there. In fact, she looked at her as though she were simply acknowledging another person who had been an active part of this private conversation. It was a chilling and strange sensation that Olivia had never before known. Somehow she had known she'd been there all along!

"Your company has been waiting patiently, Logan." She said as she side stepped out of the mans reach, her heals lightly tapping the hard wood floors as she slowly walked towards Olivia. Her heart was jack hammering in her ears as the woman passed, offering her a light smile of greeting, but no more.

Logan in contrast to the woman he'd been keeping company with, was very surprised to see Olivia standing there. Dammit, with the hallway window open Olivia had been perfectly down wind of them! He straightened himself up, watching Jean disappear around the corner before he finally looked at her, his eyes traveling the length of her arms to the trembling fists of her hands. Oh god just how much had she overheard?

"Finally decided to come outta your room?" He asked casually, trying to feel the situation out with some small talk.

From how she wouldn't speak, resorted to nodding and how she looked up at him with those big violet eyes just shy of overflowing with tears, he knew the prognosis wasn't good. He sighed in defeat. He wasn't about to tell her that he'd had to try one more time with Jean before he could at least try and move on. After all, things weren't even there with him and Olivia yet, right? He liked her and there was just some attraction worth exploring. Nothing serious. The look on Olivias face told a completely different story though. Obviously she had thought a bit more of where they were.

He finger combed his wild hair, realizing vividly what a fine mess he was now in.

"Look, Liv-"

She shook her head no, holding a hand up to stop him in. She didn't trust her voice. She just knew if she opened her mouth the tightness in her tonsils would make her voice crack. God she'd been a fool. Even if what had passed between the two of them was earnest who was she to think that he wouldn't have interests elsewhere! Just look at him! He was a bull in a pen of calves and she...well, she was a used a dry used up heifer. Of course he'd want a woman like that Jean.

"It's okay." she whispered, finding that at least at this octave her words would stay even.

It's okay? His brown knitted, not believing her words for a second. "I doubt that Liv. I think you need to know what's going on before you get the wrong idea."

"No, I'm-" She laughed as her tears started to tumble down, rambling, "I'm fine, I was just- I guess, getting ahead of myself with everything that was happening and, it's just a silly girly crush anyway, it doesn't mean anything. I mean, I knew you were a ladies man when we were back at the bar and-"

"Dammit, Liv, don't make something out of this when there doesn't need to be!" He barked suddenly, agitated by her miserable meekness! Why couldn't she just get mad, lash out at him in jealousy like he knew most girls in her situation would! How she could turn this around on herself and talk as though this was her fault because she felt she didn't measure up to Jeans majesty was simply beyond his understanding! "Don't turn this into a chance to feel sorry for yourself!"

She blinked through her tears at his bluntness, eyes wide as her mind replayed those words a few times before she spoke. "Is that what you really think?" Against any attempts to do otherwise, her eyes produced some much loathed tears, and they raced down her face quickly.

She didn't wait for an answer as her face twisted up in agony. She turned around and began to run back to her room where she'd feel safe and escape any more drama.

"Shit," He swore loudly as he gave chase! Damn his damned inability to keep his damn mouth shut!, "Olivia! Get back here!"

She didn't answer as she ran up the stairs to towards her room. Logan was close behind her, but she remained just barely out of reach.

"Olivia will you just calm down and listen?!"

The pleas fell on deaf ears and when she at last reached her room, she slammed the door in his face, the click of the lock on the other side saying what she could not.

Logan stared at the wood in his face and listened to the crying on the other side of the door. He should have figured this would happen. Not just because he had all the tact and subtly of a grizzly bear but also because Olivia was still young and her heart was still relatively innocent and inexperienced. Of course she'd act like a teenager and run to her room to cry, isn't that what all the teenage girls here did when their feelings were hurt? He thumped his forehead against the solid wood and groaned.

"Liv? Come on and talk to me, kid."

"Kid, homme?" Came the southern twang Logan was beginning to despise. "That there's a far cry from 'darlin', dontcha think?"

Of all the damn people in the world it had to be the cajun, didn't it? Logan knew better than to think that he'd simply stumbled across the scene. He'd been watching the entire time waiting for the right moment to make himself known, and realizing that he'd just use this misunderstanding to fuel whatever advances he wanted to make towards Olivia just made the entire situation far worse!

"Fuck off Gumbo." He scowled, glancing over to where the cajun stood at the mouth of the hall. He was propped against the wall with his arms crossed, those ablaze red eyes small beacons in the dim light.

"And if Remy was able to pick up on that lil' change there, you can be rest assured she noticed that it too." Remy replied.

Logan hated it, but he realized that he was right, which just further soured his mood. The regression to his original nickname for her said way more than he meant to in this situation and as sensitive as Olivia was he was certain she had heard and was agonizing over it. Any hopes he had of reaching her right now were quickly dashed to pieces. He'd have to wait for her to cool down and try to figure out what exactly he was supposed to tell her, if anything. Hell why did he feel like he had to explain this to her? He'd had a thing for Jean for a good long while, what was wrong with him acting on it? He thumped his fist angrily into her door and turned from it, knowing his line of reasoning was delusional. Dammit.

"Well she's sure as hell actin like a kid." He grumbled as he gave up, beginning to stalk away from her door like a murderous wolf, ignoring the way the cajuns hellish gaze followed his every move with a deep frown.

"No," he said in her defense, "she's actin like a woman who just got told off by the beau she admires."

"I didn't tell her off!"

"Y'told her enough t'give me an opening." Remy said coolly, a matching smile sliding up his lips. Who couldn't resist taking an extra dig at Wolverine given the situation. Poor Olivia. He gave a mocking salute. "Much obliged by the way!"

"I dunno what your deal is cajun, but somethin about all this doesn't smell right." Logan slowly approached him, his nostrils flared wide to drink in the scent Remy gave off. It never sat well with him that neither Jean nor the Professor could get a gauge on Gambit, the powerful telepaths somehow unable to slip into his mind. From the minute he arrived here at the institute it had sat uncomfortably with him and at the moment, that distrust was multiplying. If only he could smell the lie or deceit on him... "You breakin up with Rogue so suddenly, all the time you've been spending away from the mansion, and suddenly you're focusing on Twilight. It just don't add up." Logan stopped in front of him, glaring at the slightly taller man with the promise of extreme violence. "I don't know what it is yet, but when I find out you better pray that I can't find fault with you, otherwise-"

"Oui oui oui, you spill Remy's guts and hang him with the entrails and other such lovely verbatim you use before, really Logan." He waved his hand as he rolled his eyes, unconcerned by the threats. He brushed past Logan nonchalantly, heading for Olivias bedroom door. "You better start makin good on your threats, homme, otherwise a man could think you may be all talk."

This got Logans ire up, and a predatory snarl was all he could manage in reply. He plowed ahead down the hall towards his room. He needed to take a ride and get the hell away from here, Olivias hair trigger emotions be damned! He just couldn't deal with it right now.

Remy witnessed his departure and took it as a personal victory! Logan had screwed up on his own and instead of being able to stay around and fix it, the man was likely just about to grab the keys to his bike and take off again. Ever an opportunist, this meant he had the perfect chance to get in Olivias good graces and maybe put some distance between her and her self appointed guardian. Indeed, the Wolverines faux pas was this cajuns blessing!

He stood at the door a few moments to gauge her situation. He still heard her crying, but it wasn't as hysterical as when Logan had gotten there. Patiently, he waited, listening to her crying and seeking the perfect moment to make his entrance. Finally, when he heard her quiet down and there were only sniffles to be heard, he gently knocked on the door. Within, all sounds vanished, and no answer came.

He knocked again, this time calling warmly so that she would know that it wasn't Logan at her doorway, "Come now chere, talk t'Remy. He knows you been cryin."

Still there was no reply, and he inwardly grinned. It always gave him delight to have to work for a womans favor. Cat and mouse is it then? He reached into his pocket, pulling out a deck of cards. He shuffled through them until he found the one he was looking for. The ace of hearts. He tugged a pen from his pocket and braced the card against the wall as he scrawled out a message.

_ 686-5687 txt?_

He smiled to himself. He knew for a fact that she had been issued her phone. He didn't have her digits just yet, but with this he offered a much easier way of communicating with the shy belle. It'd be just the start he needed.

Deftly, he aimed the card and tossed it under her door, estimating it would come to a stop in the center of her room.

As skilled a card thrower as he was, the aim was perfect, and Olivia watched as the ace spiraled across the carpet like a skipping stone before coming to a rest, face up, right at her feet.

She had stood to get a tissue from her desk, still reeling from Logan calling her kids once more and not sure if she should answer Remy's call or not. After all, as much as Logan had just hurt her she felt that his warnings about the man were given for good reason. In addition, she just wanted to be left alone and cry it out, to fall back asleep and try to come to some sort of rational conclusion about the whole thing. That is, if she could just get the raw emotion out of the way. Oh but Remy's voice was like ice against a sore wound, his words like water to a parched throat. The temptation to reply was becoming pretty overwhelming, but her natural anxiety about speaking to the opposite sex compounded the situation with its complexity. She bent her head into her hands, rubbing her face as though the sensation would make her mind work more correctly. Her better judgement to keep quiet and heed Logan's advice had just won over her heart when that card came bounding across her carpet.

A phone number, and the irresistible invitation to forgo the awkward intricacies of vocal conversation in favor of the more premeditated and impersonal swapping of text coaxed her in. She picked up the card, it's smooth but sturdy texture feeling surprisingly good between her fingers. Remys penmanship lacked practiced structure and had a carefree sloppiness to it. Still, the message was easy to make out. She walked to the bedside stand where her phone was plugged in charging, and fumbled around with it, trying to add the contact.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, she had Remy programmed in, and was punching a message out. When she was finished, he rubbed the heal of palm against her wet cheek, pressing send.

Remys phone whistled at him, and he took a moment to just take pride in the fact that the little plan had worked! It was as if a door once closed was ever so slightly cracked open, offering him a glimpse within! He opened the message with a flick of his thumb, and read what she said.

_ Why are you here?_

He noticed that she didn't use abbreviations or any other form of text speak. He guessed she'd never had a phone before, but took pleasure in the fact that he didn't have to decipher the message but simply read it. Reciprocating the gesture, he typed his reply.

_Out of concern. Are you ok? What he said was pretty ugly._

He hit send. A few seconds later he heard her phone chime as the message was received.

She read his message and sighed, staring at the screen. How was she supposed to reply when she wasn't sure what she was even feeling? Of course, knowing Remy had heard what was said and felt for her soothed her, making her feel that she indeed wasn't making something out of nothing. A solid minute ticked by before she even tried to formulate a response.

I'm not sure what to feel but it did hurt. I'm not looking for reasons to feel bad. Not on purpose anyway.

Remy scoffed a bit and turned his back to the wall by her door, sinking down to the floor and getting comfortable so they could continue the conversation.

_ How could you not feel bad? You obviously have feelings for him and you saw him flirting with Jean which he does a lot I might add. Anyone would be hurt. Then he accused you of just trying to feel bad about yourself over it. He was being a dick._

She too, unknowing that Remy had sat on the floor, sat beside her own bed and leaned against it, reading his words a few times over. Outside, she heard the roar of a motorcycle and the squeal of tires. She didn't have to go to her window to know it was Logan leaving the mansion in anger. She turned her head and rested her temple against the mattress, shuddering as a few more tears fell. He had left because of her. Why couldn't she have just let him speak? Miserably she realized something, and she replied while a fresh waved of tears slid down her cheeks.

_ No he was right. I compared myself to her and it made me feel so small and ugly. I couldn't help it. She was just so beautiful._

When he got the text, his fingers instantly got moving to reply, his brow furrowing tightly.

_And you assume that you are not beautiful? And Logan still should have had the good sense not to tell you something like that. _

Receiving the next text made Olivia blush modestly in spite of everything else she was feeling. Her mind repeated Logans warnings but her heart drank up the compliment needily. For the moment, her heart won the battle, and she leaned her forehead against the bedside table, smiling warmly, eyes drawn to that word. Beautiful. It had to be some sort of dream, right? Remy was the best looking guy she had ever met, and he was implying that she was beautiful to him.

_Why would a guy like you say those kinds of things to me?_

Gambit heard that whistle of an incoming text sound again, and on the other side of the door, Olivia's heart began to speed up at hearing it as well, knowing he was reading her words at that very second! The sweet anticipation was something she was surprised to find she was enjoying! IT was suspenseful and tense, and while normally such sensations drove her into panic, with Remy, it only excited her!

He smiled as his crimson gaze traveled over those words displayed on the luminous screen of his phone. The opening in that metaphoric door was cracking wider, and it was time to work his magic.

_A guy like me chere? One could ask what a sweet and docile girl like you would want with a louse like me. I'll tell you if you tell me._

Just like that, the game was on. Her reply came quickly, saying-

_ Okay. Let's both say so at the same time._

Remy chuckled, realizing that she liked the game, and he hurried with his reply, finding that it came easily. Olivia on the other hand struggled with her words, her hands shaking as she typed out what she felt. This felt so unlike the person she knew herself to be, and being so new it was so hard to get out in the way she meant it. If Logan was to see what she was about to say-

She had to stop her mind from traveling that road. He obviously had a real attraction to Jean, taken or not. After all, a person couldn't control who they fell in love with. Maybe everything they had experienced the past two days alone, though genuine, meant nothing in comparison. She just didn't know where she stood with him, and here was Remy asking her what she thought of him, and she just couldn't be silent.

His reply came first, and she waited to finish her response until she had read his.

_It might have started with me flirting with you like I would any other girl, but you playing hard to get has kept me very interested. t love that you're so sweet, innocent, and all of your reactions and words are sincere. After learning about what happened to you, and seeing how deeply hurt you are, I find all I want to do it protect and shelter you. Will you let me chere?_

Her ribcage hurt from the earnest thrusting of her heart, her eyes reading his words again and again with her fingers trembling as they struggled to decide on how to reply. Gambit wanted to protect her? He liked that she was so mousey? Her trying to take Logans advise was making him try harder to get to her? She felt like she was soaring, the innocent trappings of what could possibly be first love swirling around her mind and body like a cyclone, churning up all the dusty corners of her soul and jumbling it intangibly!

Should she let him in, she wondered worriedly? She set her phone aside for a moment, bowing her forehead to rest on the peak of her knees. Her mind conjured images of the past two days with Logan suddenly. Her heart was barraged with the moments where he'd grasp her knee while driving, feeling him close as they slept in the dive up north, the way he had pressed his nose to her neck and the brush of his facial hair on her shoulder. She wanted more of that. She wanted more of him, but was that even possible now? She dared to glance at the screen of her still glowing phone, agonizing over what to do.

Logan had left, the rumble of his bike now a memory. Remy was here in the now.

She reached over, slowly and carefully wording what she would send. It read-

_ I'm sorry, but this is hard for me to say. You're so handsome and charming. You could have any girl you wanted, and I suspect you know that. So I wonder why you would say those things to me? I want to believe you and I want to trust what you say, but considering what Logan said, is it dangerous to trust you?_

When his phone alerted him to his reply this time, he found himself excited to read the message, but then, scrolling the paragraph, he frowned, the figurative door seeming to creep a little narrower.

Part of his mutation was irresistible charisma, an ability he could add to his already very natural charm. It was a secret of his that he kept close to his chest. Once people learned he had that ability, it lost all effectiveness, so it had become a well guarded secret. There were those who were immune however, as Logan seemed to be. Reading her text, he knew she felt the magnetism he was trying to use to draw her in, but with Wolverines blasted warnings ringing in her head, it was keeping his powers from working fully. She may not know of the ability itself, but being warned of his 'ways' seemed to be having a similar if not diluted effect.

He'd have to word his reply carefully. In text, his abilities were obviously useless, but if he could get her to open her door to him...

Olivias phone lit up, and she entered the message que again to read what he said.

_You have a mind of your own Olivia. You have free will and good judgement. If what he said really rings true with you, listen to him and I will think no less of you. But come to that decision yourself based on what you know and think of me, not based on his opinion. I just want to be given a chance. Please?_

She bit her lip and squirmed where she sat. The heat was on now, and she had to make a choice whether to listen to Logans words of caution, or give Remy the chance he was asking for. He was right, she wasn't giving him a fair shot and was letting one persons thoughts or maybe slander get in the way of befriending him. Or perhaps, more than befriend?

She swallowed down her heart which had inexplicably made its way up into her throat. It remained lodged there. Her thumbs moved to type, feeling a washing of heat bathe her body.

_ I want to give you a chance._

She punched send.

Remy was already waiting when the message appeared in the conversation screen. Pride swelled within him as word of his winning this battle came. The war was far from over, but this was the first victory in what he hoped would be many to come! Pleased with the response, he quickly implored.

_Will you open the door for me?_

Through the wooden barrier, he heard his text reach its destination with a chime. Then there was movement and a second later, footsteps approaching.

Swiftly, he got up, pocketing his phone as at last the lock on the door was unlatched. When at last the door opened, He stood there, face to face with Twilight, red on black orbs warmly meeting celestial violet. Her cheeks were wet, her expression forlorn and confused, but when he offered her a reassuring smile, a shy one bloomed on her own face. Ducking her head as she stepped back, she offered him space to enter.

At last the door was open.

He stepped inside.

**That's the end of this chapter! I know I know, it's kinda short, but I felt so bad about letting a week go by with no updates so I wanted to post something. So, what happens when Remy walks through that door? Where does this situation go? What will Logan think? What will her Maestro think? Come to think of it, what if Remy really thinking? What's his agenda? Also, where did Logan run off to? **

**Give me your thoughts and feelings on all of this, and please, leave me a review letting me know whatever is on your mind and what you'd like to see happen! **

**Love you lots, and until next time-!**


	12. The Kiss

**Hell my beloved readers! FULL STEAM AHEAD so to speak! This is a steamier chapter with a lot of mounting sexual tension! Hurray! Thank you to my new faves and followers, nikkali44, StarlitStar, ZabuzasGirl, Moridansa, MakaykaDevine, Ilovestoriesandfanfic, Seraphine le nyx, and Juli1809!** **You guys make me so happy :D**

**StarlitStar- Thank you!**

**ZubazasGirl- Well, here XD**

**AcaciaDawn105- Well I can't tell you of course if you're right or wrong, but I can say that Remy has a lot of reasons for being who he is here, and hopefully as time goes on, you'll find him less irritating and a character you can find some sympathy for.**

**Corticarte apa lagranges- I hope you find more Logan more redeeming in this chapter. I can't fault him for hopping on his bike when things get uncomfortable, but it's a bad habit, for certain. I love seeing people riled up over my story, it makes me giddy, thank you!**

**Rainbor- Um...oopsie? :3**

**Lerena- he certainly can be lol!**

**Feral Kuga- Hahaha, Logans stubbornness makes him lovable, but you gotta wonder why he has a hard time saying what he means! **

**Dragonfyre- I'm delighted to hear that you think Olivias behavior is convincing of someone who has experienced emotional trauma! Thank you so much for reading and caring enough to leave your thoughts!**

**On to the story!**

Olivia had never had a boy in her bedroom. Never. It had been a firm household rule that had no room for negotiation and should that rule have been broken the consequences would be severe. Fear of being unable to continue her vocal training and being cut off from her maestro had been enough to keep her from even entertaining the idea. Not that there were any candidates to sneak into her quarters of course, but she'd even explicitly refused her cousin Travis entrance on many occasions.

Now, however, there were was no strict father or blindly submissive mother here to enforce it. She glanced to the student handbook she had been provided the day before, sitting there unopened on her desk. The thought crossed her mind that there were such guidelines in place there, but so long as she hadn't seen them for herself, she was acting in ignorance, right?

She found that her palms were a bit sweaty and that she had a hard time looking directly at him as she pushed the door closed to shut them in privacy. There was a real strange change to the atmosphere of this room while he was in it. It was something strange to her, trepidation thick in each heavy breath and yet still eager to experience this unknown. She pulled a tissue from the provided box on her dresser and wiped her nose, heading back to her bed to sit.

He walked calmly over to her desk and tilted the chair on one of it's legs, giving it a graceful spin before he sat, backwards. He crossed his arms over the back of it and watched her get comfortable. He had easily picked up on her emotions. It was in her every measured step, in how she wiped her moist palms on her pants to dry them, and how she kept her gaze downcast to her feet. She was nervous, but from that alluringly docile glance she briefly swept his way, she was also curious. Curious was something he could work with.

"Remy's not makin you uncomfortable is he?" he asked, concentrating for the moment to put her anxiety at ease. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. Learned my lesson yesterday when you whacked me."

Olivia shifted in place as she sighed in regret. "I wasn't really aware of what I was doing. I'm sorry, I-"

"You already said so, no need t'go there again." He assured her with ease, grinning. "It was a nice shot, chere! Real quick! Mighta knocked me back if that pretty hand a'yours was closed."

She looked at him, wondering why that seemed to impress him. "But I could have hurt you."

"Oui!" He agreed, his eyes lighting up playfully. "I like a girl who can kick my ass!"

She laughed in disbelief, shaking her head. "You're a strange one, Remy!"

"And you love that." He said with quiet confidence, his red eyes glowing briefly.

She could only blush, and this made his grin grow wider. Getting her to react to him was so easy.

She turned her head away from him, futilely trying avoid his simmering stare as she attempted to discreetly blow her nose. It was still noisy as a foghorn and horribly unladylike, and after making sure her nose was clean, she turned back to him with embarrassment adding to the color on her cheeks.

"Sorry about that."

"Nothin to be sorry for. Y'been cryin." He gave a moments pause, tilting his head to the side as those warm ember eyes regarded her, welcoming like a warm hearth with a nice bed of coals. "Y'mind if Remy asks you somethin?"

"Yeah, go ahead." She sniffled again and tossed her tissue into the waste paper bin, trying avoid the draw of his stare.

He rested his chin on his crossed arms. "Wolverine. You two spent d'past two days wit him, oui?"

"Yes?"

"What happened?"

She felt her hands grip the clothing on her knees, and Remy picked up the reminiscent stare that his question conjured. He knew the attraction had been obvious, but for her to react like this even after an argument? It was telling him a lot more than her words might.

"He took care of me." Was the answer she settled on. She could tell by the look on his face that he had been hoping for a more lengthy explanation. With a cheeky grin, she added, "Why do you want to know, Remy?"

He leaned closed to her, tilting the chair up on two legs. His drawl thick and his gaze unashamedly boring into her own, he murmured, "Maybe Remy wants to see what kind of competition he has for you?"

Goosebumps bred across her skin, her hands now twisting the fabric of her pants, trapped in his intense stare and melting in it.  
"Well...maybe you do." she dared to whisper, exhilarated by the sparks she felt flying.

"Does poor ole' Remy have a chance?" he managed a pretty convincing pout, to which she just giggled a little.

To his immense surprise, she replied, "You don't stand a chance."

He blinked, unable to disguise the shock. Really? Logan had such a hold on her already that she would say with such confidence that he had no chance? Well, if nothing else, Gambit loved a challenge and Olivia was certainly providing him with one!

She had to smile, feeling somewhat pleased at taking him so off guard. "You look surprised."

He chuckled, smoothly brushing his bangs away from his eyes. "Mas no! You just don'know better yet, tis all!"

She laughed again, asking, "and me knowing you better will change my mind?"

"Oui." He said simply, flashing his perfect teeth.

She shook her head, a distance in her eyes. "I can't explain it Remy. I know it looks bad now, but I feel something special for Logan. I can't just forget these past two days together and move on so quickly. I have to know where I stand with him first."

Remy frowned. "Remy thought it kinda obvious with him hittin on Jean n'all." He felt a twinge of regret at his words when her soft expression winced into something painful. Poor belle... "Forgive my bluntness, chere. He been after her a long time. I don't see that stoppin, not after what happened dis mornin."

His words couldn't be denied. If Logan felt anything for her like she felt for him, wouldn't he have stopped pursuing any other women? The answer now seemed obvious, but her heart didn't want to believe it, the tender organ recalling to her mind those soft stolen moments that had transpired between them. It had not been frivolous flirting, it had meant something!

"I know what you say makes sense." She admitted, drawing a knee up to rest her chin on. "It's just, after everything thats happened to me and how awful it was, I thought I had nothing left to offer a man. Nothing pure. Then I met Logan. I know it was Xavier who told him I was in trouble, but he came for me. He took me out of that place and protected me. He listened to me and said I didn't have to face it alone, and he let me cry, and he held me-"

Gambit knew Logan had a soft spot for kids despite what he'd like everyone to believe. Him offering some comfort to one wasn't entirely unheard of. Olivia however was not a child. She was a woman in both body and the legal sense of the word, a woman in need of comfort and understanding. The kind of things she was speaking about Logan doing with her left him with little doubt now that his suspicions were correct. Logan definitely had a thing for Twilight.

"-and when we shared the bed he let me sleep under his arm-"

He couldn't help himself as he heard that last part, scoffing, "He did what now?"

She paused, turning to him to find him looking truly stunned.

"What?" She asked.

"You shared a _bed_, chere?" He asked with a risen brow.

Slowly she nodded. "Yes."

"_Merde_-!" He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Nothing happened." she said quickly.

"Course not," He agreed, "He wouldna done nothin given your situation, even he'd wanted to. S'just-" It was just that Logan was a private man and he'd never known Logan to breach the 'student teacher' code of conduct, even with potential students. Sharing a bed with her already clearly showed Remy that he had to act. Logans interest did lie with her but he had to convince her otherwise.

"What is it?" she asked worriedly.

He finger combed his attractively tousled auburn locks back out of his face. "Just surprised. Why he'd do all that wit you and then hours later go flirt wit Jean again? You must be so confused, chere."

Her helpless sigh was answer enough, but she nodded and confessed, "I'm very confused, Remy."

A thick tense silence settled between them, and Remy felt his heart sink. This girl had been through enough without him toying with her, no matter how good his reasons were. She was in turmoil, wanting to turn somewhere...

"What does 'chere' mean?" She asked, "You keep saying that."

He pushed his guilt out of the way and offered her a sweet smile. "It means, dear."

Oh how cute, she was blushing again!

He stood from the chair, pushing it out of his way as he closed the distance between them. He waited until he stood directly before, his knees on either side of her own before he leaned down over her. His slow and deliberate motions were making her back arch backward and lean heavily upon her hands which had become braced behind her, always maintaining eye contact with him. From here he could see the depth of her cheeks rosiness, the many hues of her vibrant violet eyes, and also feel the quavering of her wispy breaths against his face. She made the slightest sound of uncertainty and he felt his own heart palpitate briefly. His eyes darted to her slightly parted lips in mounting interest. They looked so soft and warm, the perfect cushions for his own. The notion surprised him in its unexpected fervency. He had been trying to cause this reaction in her, not to be taken in himself. He lifted a hand slowly, brushing his knuckles down the length of her slender jaw for no other reason than to experience the softness of her skin. She quivered.

_Mon Dieu_, her reactions to so simple a gesture were as he had claimed them to be in his texts to her! Genuinely sincere! Was she truly so innocent she had not felt the appreciative touch of a mans hand against her?

He then knew what Logan had seen. How a woman could remain so innocently unaware of the delights of touch and sex after brutally being raped was an intoxicating mystery! She had only known brutality and the unencumbered lusts of thugs. Not the addictive trappings of a man and womans wandering hands, or the sensual pleasures they could build up in each other! He wondered if she had even explored her own body for herself to sip from the cup that thus far had been kept from her.

He groaned suddenly, and he dipped his face lower, his lips a mere inch from hers. "Did he kiss you chere?" He asked, deeply hoping not, so that he may be the one to taste her first. If he could content himself with that, just one stolen kiss, maybe he could get his mind back on his mission and back on what was really important here.

Olivia was arched back, their faces so close she could smell the tobacco on his clothes and the aftershave on his face, along with a lingering unnamed spiciness. His body was so athletically shaped, taut and lithe as he scooped low towards her and spoke. Her eyes were drawn to his lips, so tantalizingly close-

"No...no he didn't." she swallowed, her breaths becoming oddly more labored. "I've actually...never been kissed."

Gambit felt an arousing tightness stir in his loins at the the thought of this. Oh he could make her feel so many things with just a kiss and to have it be her first would be such a vivid delight! His hand lifted, the tips of his fingers grazing up her arms towards he shoulder, drawing a delicious sound from her throat. They traveled further, cupping behind her neck and fully intending to close that distance when she stopped him.

"Don't." came her thin gasp.

Don't? His mind raced, pausing to stare into her eyes at this close proximity. She was not untouched by his advances. In fact, from the flush of her cheeks and the slightly parted moistness of her lips, she looked to be quite taken in! So, he wondered, why would she have him stop?

"Why?" He murmured, his head dipping lower so that he might be able to coax her into submission by placing kisses elsewhere. The first was to the corner of her mouth, teasingly lingering there and moving to her jaw. Earnestly he body shivered, and he added, "I know you like this, 'Livia. I ache to kiss you."

Her mind was swimming, overflowing with the powerful and sensual presence that was Gambit. His touch made her skin tingle to life, his wandering kisses making her body feel hypersensitive to even his breath on her neck. Oh God, she wanted to, she did, and her fingers clutched her comforter anxiously! She had to hold on and keep her senses and make him stop!

"My first kiss is all I have left." She tried to explain through the somersaults her stomach was making, shuddering in his grasp as his mouth closed around a sensitive spot on her neck. Her head fell back and she moaned, drowning in his raw sexual energy. He'd done it. She was aroused, and she listlessly didn't know what to do about it. "Please... stop. Don't take it from me?"

The hand he had to her neck tightened slightly in passion, and he dipped his forehead to rest in her shoulder while he attempted to compose himself. Her pleas had easily touched his heart. It didn't matter now that he could persuade her to change her mind, and he had no doubt that he could. He had no desire to. She was right. If a simple kiss was the one thing she had left to offer, who was he to rob it of her.

Remys native tongue wove an elegant string of words in a language she didn't understand. He kept his head bowed, and she realized how difficult it was for him to simply stop what he had been doing and honor her words. She rose a hand and gently slipped it over the back of his head, amazed at how silky his hair felt against the pads of her fingers.

"I'm sorry." She sighed, rubbing the back of his head soothingly, slowly regaining her senses.

He laughed lightly, his hand at last dropping from her neck as he straightened.

"You surprise me, Livia." He said, his eyes alight with something Olivia had trouble placing. "You, chere, are so much more than you seem." Abruptly, he grinned and headed towards the door. "Alas, I saw the list on your desk and Remy knows you have errands to run! Need a ride into town?"

She was a bit jarred by the quick turn of atmosphere, but happy to have the offer, she nodded!

"Yeah, I do actually! You don't mind?"

"Not at all, Remy just hopin to get to know this enrapturing woman more! Maybe Remy can buy you dinner too?"

"A date?" she queried.

"Oui!"

"Then no."

He cheekily bowed to her, "Then I ask again tomorrow!"

**x**

The time out with Remy had done her some good. He'd taken her to a department store and helped her find the things she needed before Remy drove her to the mall where she could browse around for a few outfits if she could find them at the right price. The initial 200 dollar allowance for a newcomer really didn't stretch far no matter how frugal she tried to be. In the end, she asked him if there was a GoodWill outlet nearby where she could stretch her pennies further.

It took most of the afternoon and she could tell by the way Remy constantly shifted from a series of flourishes to a dynamo shuffle that he was bored to tears, but he patiently stood aside and gave her feedback. A smirk here, a grin there, and from time to time, a whistle of approval. Though he did disappear for about an hour at one point, when he returned he did so with smoothies.

In the end she walked away with some decent clothes that she knew she'd be comfortable in, some still having the original tags of reputable brands on them. They weren't the most up to date fashions, but they were timeless classics. Simple jeans, some tank tops, a hoodie, and an oversized off the shoulder knit sweater that she couldn't live without. She also found a couple t-shirts in the mens section for her to sleep in, featuring bands and tv shows she enjoyed, which the geek in her thought was pretty exciting.

The time spent with Remy had been nice too. He told her about his powers, a unique ability to charge inanimate objects to become explosive kinetic bombs, and also showed her in person how they worked. She decided she'd never get used to seeing a mutants powers. As amazing as Logans had been to witness, now all she could think of what Gambit could do in battle with a gift like that!

He was enigmatic though, not wanting to get too much into the past, which she in a way could understand. She didn't want to talk about some things, her rape the most obvious of which, so she assumed there were things that he felt the same about. She assured him she understood and that she'd try not to ask, though her feminine curiosity was piqued.

She couldn't help it. She caught him staring off into the distance a lot, lost in his own thoughts and she was beginning to wonder what occupied his mind so greatly. She felt a lot of empathy for him. It was as though something persistently haunted him. Of course, he'd catch her watching and give her one of those knowing smirks that made her heart race. Those hellish eyes that both scared her and drew her in with their fire and brimstone. Could another mans gaze in this world possibly be as hypnotic as Gambits?

Each time she thought it, she checked her phone, tempted to contact Logan. Was it 'nothing' to text him and tell him she was sorry about the altercation in the hallway? His words were that those things were best done in person, though. With great effort, she resisted the urge, trying to content herself to wait on his return to talk things over.

It would be several days however, before Logan returned. After Olivias shopping trip with Gambit, she had come to his room in search of him to find his room still empty. The next morning she checked again and still nothing. That day melted into the next, and Olivia once more remained holed up in her room. She waited, she slept, put her things away, and laid around agonizing over what to do.

Remy would text her on a daily basis, asking her if she'd like him to bring food up from the kitchen, which she accepted gratefully. It quickly became the norm to share some playfully flirtatious meals with him on her bedroom floor. She was learning to relax in his company and accept his offered friendship for what it was. Yes, he would still ask her on a date, to which she would always say no, and he would always reply that he'd ask again tomorrow. In the five days Logan was absent after their fight, that became her routine, even though it had been four days since she had been given her school schedule. She made no effort to go to any of her training classes or appointments. No one made any attempts to come and retrieve her, and she was content to stay where she was, for now at least. It was comfortable and she rationalized her actions by saying she was giving herself an adjustment period before she dove into the things she had to do there. That wasn't wrong, was it?

**x**

Today was Friday, a full week from the first day she had met Logan and Olivia was in her room fast asleep. Her window had its sun blocker in it, which was a well fitted piece of painted particle board with weather stripping well adhered around the four corners. It made her room pitch black aside from the neon green glow of her new alarm clock.

A heavy fisted knock pounded on her door. Through the thick haze of sleep she ignored the sound, hoping it wouldn't come again if only she would ignore it. There was no such luck, and the knock came again,

"I know you're in there Liv, the Professor says you haven't been out of there for days! Answer the damn door!"

Her eyes shot open wide with a gasp.

Logan was back!

His arrival spurned a strange mix of anticipation and fear! She'd been waiting for him to come back so she could talk to him, but he'd been gone so much longer than she thought he'd be. He hadn't gone for a drive around the block or to a friends for a few hours, he'd been gone for days! She thought that with all the time she'd had to herself she'd feel more prepared for this, but the truth was, she just wasn't.

Forcing herself out of bed, she tugged at the hem of her large t-shirt, trying to see if it'd be modest enough to answer the door in, but it only reached her high upper thigh! She'd gotten it because it had a bowl of cereal on it with the message 'cereal killer' on it. It'd made her laugh and was cheap so...She flicked the bedside lamp on and went to her dresser in search of those sweats the professor had provided her with when she'd moved in. She tugged them on in a hurry, and swiftly turned back towards the door. God she was a mess, and he already sounded angry. This just couldn't end well, could it.

Ready to face the music, she opened her door and looked up to find him staring down at her, a sour expression softening as their eyes met. Her heart immediately skipped a beat before beginning to race. Five days away from him had not diluted her feelings for him it seemed.

Forgetting her anxieties, she smiled and said, "Where've you been, Big Guy?"

"It's hard to stay pissed at you when you call me that." He rumbled softly, and she just found herself biting on a huge smile.

His hair was ruffled more than usual, and if his smell was any indication he was in desperate need of a shower. She should have been repulsed, but beyond the yucky stink of dirty man there was a smell she had come to know of him, a smell she had missed. Cigars, pine, and rain.

"You're still mad at me?" She asked.

"Not about all that, no." He said. "But I came back here only to learn from the Professor that you've been holed up in your room the entire week."

"I thought you told me that you're not my dad." she quipped with a frown.

He countered quickly, "You still struck me as more responsible than that." His expression soured suddenly, his nose twitching as a smell met his nose. Oh god, her room smelled like the cajun! His jaw clenched and he took a deep breath. "Gambit's been keeping his distance I hope."

She shuffled a bit, seeing that the delight of seeing each other again had worn away. She'd hoped she'd have more time to talk to him before this came up, but in true Wolverine form he must have smelled him.

"Well, he's actually been keeping me company." Logans leather jacket made a soft creaking sound as his entire body tensed, and she was quick to add, "It's not a big deal, Logan, we've just been talking a lot. It's been really lonely around here-"

"Because you need to get your ass out of your room." He barked. "Dammit Olivia, I can accept you needed a day or two to get comfortable but you have to get out of your comfort zone and push yourself to do the shit you don't want to!"

Quickly she cried back, "The last time I did that I found you fawning over a busty redhead!"

"Who I flirt with is my own damn business!"

"Not when you flirt with me t-too!" Her voice broke, and she turned away, her eyes feeling the familiar sting of approaching tears.

"Aw no, Liv, come on... ugh, dammit." He rubbed his face for a moment, cursing colorfully to himself. this was not what he had come back here to do. "Sorry. Look, we need to talk about all this."

"Yeah? Okay..." she said quietly, stepping aside so he could come in. She flicked the main light switch to her room on and the room lit up.

Logan frowned, dropping a large green duffel bag on the floor of her room and walking to the blocked window. "What are you, a vampire?"

Olivia didn't reply. Instead, she stared with wide eyes at that bag he'd placed in her room. The tears she had been holding back suddenly began to slide smoothly down her face. The bag was dirty and had some stains on it, and she could tell you where each one came from. The brown one by the zipper was from a cup of coffee given to her while she was homeless. A woman had accidently spilled the cup on her bag and in a gesture of apology, she bought them both a cup. There was also a rip in the upper right hand side held together with a small series of safety pins where the handle had caught on a door knob and ripped it side long. This was the bag she had left home with, the bag she had packed with the only things she was allowed to take away from her childhood home.

And Logan had went and found it.

Slowly, she sank down to her knees in front of it, and touched the rough canvas reverently as she began to cry.

Logan smelled tears. Dammit, he hated when Olivia cried, especially when he was the cause. He tugged the blockade from the window and set it down, satisfied that now the room was bathed in natural light and turned towards her. He paused. He'd thought her tears were residual from what he'd said earlier, but now seeing her bent over the bag he'd spent the work week searching for, he knew that she was weeping for an entirely different reason. He quietly walked up to where she sat and got on bended knee beside her.

"I was pretty frustrated when I left Liv." He began, putting a heavy hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I thought I had done a good job of showing you that I care about ya but then I got here, I ran into 'her' and shit happened. I had to take off and clear my head and while I was out there, I took the road back up north that we had taken. I dunno why but I thought if I could find the bag you left behind then maybe you'd give me a chance and hear me out."

She sniffled and tearfully whispered, "Logan, why would you think that you'd need to do all of that for me to listen to you?" She shook her head in frustration, "I would have listened to you as soon as I calmed down, I just needed a little space to do it!"

"I know that, Darlin, but maybe I felt like I had to earn it after what I did. Thing is, Jeans still got her claws in me somehow and I can't seem to get them out. When I got it for her, I got it real bad." He watched as her face turned woefully to his, listening. Good, that's what he'd needed. His hand tightened on her slightly and he bowed his head. "Look, Liv, we got somethin. I dunno what it is, but it's there, but I can't just plow ahead and just make you and I an us. Not yet."

"Not yet?" Her heart was starting to pound, and she stared expectantly into his soulful dark brown eyes. "I don't understand."  
He reached out and turned her towards him and carefully said what he had rehearsed in his mind for the past several days, eye to eye with the sensitive creature before him. "I've got this thing for Jean. It's never gonna happen and I need to get my ass over it. I like you Liv, but I'm not gonna fuck things up by using you as a rebound, you deserve better than that and I want to give us a better chance than that." He watched as understanding dawned in her eyes, "I need to just get her outta my mind and move on. On my own. When I'm able to do it, then, yeah, I wanna give you and me a shot."

He had feelings for her is what he was really saying. He couldn't go right out and call it 'feelings' which she should have somehow expected, but that he said he had a thing' for her gave her a lot of hope. And a lot of confusion. She looked away, eyes drawn to that bag that he'd searched for on her behalf.

"Liv, say something." He said, sensing in her silence something coming that he knew he wouldn't like.

"What if," She started hesitantly, "by the time you've got her out of your head..." She stopped, hating what she was about to say, "What if I've found someone else?"

To her surprise, Logans massive fingers gave a tremble against her shoulders. _My God_, she thought breathlessly, that thought scares him!

He withdrew his hands from her, a tightness in his joints that he couldn't make relax. He knew that would be a possibility, and smelling Gambit here in her room only reaffirmed that mounting fear, but he'd meant his words to her. He wasn't going to use her to rebound from his feelings for Jean.

"Then I guess it's the chance I'm takin."

He was about to stand up, but her small hand reaching up caught his wrist gently and stopped him.

"Logan." She said his name like it were some reverent prayer, and the man began to crave that sound in his ears again!

He slowly sank back down to her. "Yeah?" His whisper was rough, his body still harboring the tension that her question had brought with it.

"You went through all this trouble for me." A brilliant smile brightened her face. "This is by far the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you."

"Heh," He scoffed a bit with a lopsided smile. "I knew it was all you had. Didn't know what was in there but I thought it was something from home-" He stopped when he felt her hand on his cheek, her fingers experimentally stroking through the thick facial hair that stretched from his jaw up over his temples.

"I wish you could be with me now." She professed bittersweetly. "But I understand."

Why did his chest feel tight? With every gentle stroke of her fingers and each word she said, pressure built and felt like it was crushing his sternum. When her other hand lifted to join the other on the opposite side of his face, the sensation only increased. He closed his eyes, taking the inner beating from the inner beast. The savage in him wanted Olivia for himself shared with no one. He wanted to have her now, consequences be damned, but experience told him it just wasn't wise. If he cared about her at all, he would do things the right way. If they still found their way together after all was said and done, then he'd be a lucky man. The beast still tore at his soul, only stilling when a distant female voice called from forgotten recesses of his mind, '_Logan, you're not an animal._'

So he sat and relished in the touch while they could.

"There's something else." She said as she withdrew her hands.

He cracked his eyes open to look at her. "Hmm?" He grunted, already missing those soft calming touches.

She looked a little fidgety, her cheeks rosy and those violet eyes glittering like amethysts. Unable to answer him, she looked down for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Come on, it's me darlin, spit it out."

"I've never been kissed, Logan." She disclosed in a whisper. "Remy almost kissed me a few days ago but I stopped him because...because...I-"

His heart began to pound without mercy, every molecule of his body suddenly very interested in what she was about to say. Even that inner beast was still and alert in eagerness.

She blushed hotly, and looked up at him, as docile as a doe. "I wanted to save it for you."

_Oh sweet fuck, she didn't know what she was asking him_. A kiss with her could be the best thing, something fulfilling and promising, a token of the future. Or, it could be the one reminder of what might have been or a memento of the one that got away. His hands were in fists at his sides as he warred within himself over the gravity of this situation. No, he would not refuse her. If he were honest, he could not. She was offering up something precious, the meaning of which was not lost on him. After being raped, to still not have had a first kiss was something to be jealously guarded, and she had turned away Gambit in favor of him! Aside from that, he wondered if after their lips met he could stop at just a kiss. Inwardly, he argued of course he would, but the animalistic part of his being paced the cage in hunger, craving the nubile woman more than it had anything else in a very long while. Yes, he would have to stop with just a kiss, not only to save her from the very dominant lover he could be, but also from the flashbacks such an act may give her. The last thing he'd ever want to do was trigger bad memories during a moment that was supposed to be savored.

Shit, she just wants a kiss you monster, not a good hard rutting! When he exited his thoughts, the two were locked in a stare, her own expectant and eager, and his dark and possessive.

_Okay_. He reassured himself as he bent closer to her._ A kiss. Just a kiss._

"You sure that's what you want?" He rumbled huskily. His hands ached to reach out and touch her, to draw her in and give her what she asked, but he had to be patient and do this properly.

Her chin tilted up in invitation, her tongue unconsciously darting out to wet their apex of breath. "I'm sure." She said in answer. "Of something happens and we never get a chance to be together, I'll regret missing this opportunity. I want you to have it. Please Logan."

A deep pleased growl reverberated in his chest, and he shifted on the floor so that he moved closer to her. His questing hands reached out and stroked over her hair before entangling themselves in her silken chocolate locks. Damn her hair was soft, just like the down of a doves feathers! Threading into her hair he cupped the back of her head and drew her forward, earning a yearning whine from her. He grinned at it.

She shifted and her hands were braced on his knees, eyes upturned as his face hovered above her own. Closer they came to one another, a foot shrinking into inches, and inches into a scant breath! He watched as her lashes fluttered closed, and knew he could wait no longer.

He slanted his lips over hers and sealed their mouths together. It was no mere peck on the lips or brief fleeting touch like the virginal kisses that children exchanged in the schoolyard. He held himself there with purpose, gently positioning his head askew over her own to test the pliable nature of her lips. He felt her hands grasp his knees, her body tensing for a moment. Gently, he explored.

She felt goosebumps all over her, traveling tingles of sensation creeping from her exposed skin to hidden corners of her body. It felt beautifully strange. His whiskers tickled her face, scraping ever so lightly across her sensitive skin, but in contrast his mouth was soft, warm, and alive, and seemed to be seeking something mysterious from her. It felt so nice though, so with pure intent, she tried to mimic the motions he was making, her lips beginning to move sensually with his, rhythm for rhythm.

She must have done something he liked, she thought as a grating groan vibrated their joined lips! Oh that sweet sound made her shiver, and before she knew it, she was crawling closer to him, seeking more of this new frontier that he was opening to her! Ever a creature of raw instinct, the Wolverine knew what she was seeking, and his free arm snaked out around her waist possessively, hoisting her easily into his lap. He moved more fervently now, lips beginning to part and trace the tempting crease of her mouth with his tongue. He wanted to be there in that warm unexplored cavern, and with increasing urgency, the sinewy muscle begged needily for entrance.

Heat suddenly roared through Olivias veins as she felt him attempt to deepen the kiss, the unexpected reaction leaving her gasping naively. It was the opening Logan had wanted, and he took the opportunity to thrust his tongue against hers, coaxing it to meet and play with him. He groaned heartily, and just as both her arms lifted to encircle his neck and shoulders his own opens hands pressed her body to his seamlessly. He felt her soft breasts pillowed on his pectorals,and her finger tips scraping gently against his scalp as she began to give in to the instincts of passion she had thus far been novice to.

Under all of her fear and inexperience, Logan was now discovering a woman who had long denied herself her wants and desires. Her jaw was now slack and willing to allow him in, and as he plundered her offered secrets she made the most alluring little moans! They were an intoxicating treat added to the already addicting concoction that he was finding in her. He was captivated by how innocently she responded to each new brush of his tongue or grasp of his hand, and he basked in how her touch curiously investigated the rigid muscled planes of his neck and shoulders.

Olivia marveled at how quickly this kiss had escalated! She thought a kiss was short lived, lasting maybe a few blissful seconds and then ending. This though was not at all what she had imagined it would be! It was ardorous, a culmination of natural chemistry between two people and repressed sexual energy. Now they were touching each other, his massive hands pressing and wandering up and down her back, wary to avoid going to low, she noticed, and she was massaging and rubbing her hands and fingers over every new dip and plane she could reach! What was more, she grappled with the realization that she was becoming very aroused. That frightened her, because she knew where that may lead, and as befuddling as it was, it excited her for the same exact reason.

Logans breath chuffed past his nose as he smelled it, the powerful cocktail of Olivias arousal, and the lust maddened beast inside viciously began to tear at his sanity! He abruptly bucked his hips back, trying to keep her from feeling the growing swell of his manhood. He had to stop. Oh god he wanted to lower her down to the floor, shred off her clothing with his claws and sink into the welcoming wet velvety warmth he was smelling, but dammit, he just knew she wasn't ready for that!

He tore his mouth away, and found they were both panting for air, their eyes locked in an unbreaking stare. She was whimpering his name needily, confused by the needs of her own body, and he, knowing exactly how to sate those needs but unwilling to do so. God he loved how she was saying his name like that.

"You're not ready, darlin." He rasped, leaning in to scrape his teeth along her jaw. Her spine straightened and a hapless moan filled the air.

"I know." she managed on an airy breath.

It was hard, in all manners of speaking, but he managed with a feral sound to untangle their bodies from one another, feeling regretfully unfulfilled**.** All he had gotten from this kiss was a clearer look at just how compatible he found them. He had to get over that redhead, and soon, before someone else came and fucked everything up for him again.

Olivia remained on the floor as he stood up, her back to her bed and her head thrown back against the mattress. She was catching her breath and looking damn appealing looking so ignorantly wonton! He had to look away.

"Logan?" She called as he began to head for the door.

"Hmm?" He grunted.

She smiled. "I don't think any girl in history has had a first kiss as good as that one. Thank you."

Score one for his ego, he mused with a chuckle.

"Be out of bed on time. Tomorrow you're starting training even if I have to rag your ass out of bed myself."

**Well, what do you think?**


	13. Missed Chance

**Gonna warn you right now, this is a steamy steamy chapter, and I suspect you guys are gonna hate me for it. SO yeah, MATURE READERS ONLY! **

**Thank you to BonesMcSkeleton and Koaax3 for the faves! Also, thank you to all those who reviewed, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! A lot of action is coming up soon, lots of fighting blood and gore, and more! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out soon! Enjoy lovies!**

Logan sure made good on his threats. In true form, she had tried to seep in and squeeze in one more day of rest and relaxation but as promised Logan was at her door at 6:30 AM dragging her quite literally out of her bed. Oh she had protested, thinking that if she rolled over and clung to the mattress that he'd give up and leave her alone but it had been wishful thinking at best. Now when this jog was over she had the task of rearranging the dislodged mattress, sheets, and blanket back on her the box spring because they were now strewn all over her room!

Well, he'd done what he'd set out to do, and now she was dressed in a tank top and sweats as she and about 20 other students did laps around the mansion! She was not an athlete, not by any stretch of the imagination, and they had hardly completed that first lap when she had begun to wheeze and slowly fall behind. The other students who obviously had been trained to have built up stamina breezed past her with ease.

All except one.

Everyone called her Jubilee, and she was a saucy girl of Chinese descent with short inky black hair and an incredibly fair complexion. She wore a pair of tiny white sport shorts and a clingy pink top which were both exercise appropriate, but she also was wearing make-up and large hoop earrings which were not! Not to mention she kept snapping her bubblegum, a huge no no for the gym classes that Olivia had attended in the past! The odd thing was, this girl looked to be in good shape! Her slender legs were nicely muscled and even her thighs had definition! She was obviously capable of doing this chore. Apparently, she just didn't want to.

"Coooome ooooon!" Jubilee cried, looking more like she was just walking and swinging her arms a bit than running. " ! This is too hard!"

"You'd have an easier time of it if you'd just give in and do the exercise Jubes!" Called a boy behind them who was on his final lap. His short brown hair stuck to his face, pretty moist from perspiration but he was fairing far better than both of them.

Olivia pressed forward, thinking only about heading back to bed. God she hated running, she hated it, hated it, hated it!

Jubillee stopped, looking back at the boy approaching them. "You hate it too and you know it Bobby! I think has us do this every day to torture us!"

"Every day?!" Olivia cried suddenly, stopping in her tracks as well. She turned her back to the mansion and sank against it, gasping for oxygen! "No way... 'gasp' there's j-just no way!"

Jubilee stared at Olivia as she blew a huge pink bubble with her gum. She appeared cool and aloof.

"Wow, she talks." Jubilee remarked, earning an elbow in the ribs from the young man who was in the midst of passing her. The Asian swung her hand, slapping him in the back of the head in retaliation, but Bobby just laughed it off.

"Be nice, she's new." He turned on his heal, actually running pretty skillfully backwards. "Don't give up Twilight! It gets easier! Just keep going!"

Her lungs burned with every breath, fluid and mucus in her throat making it hard to continue. Her legs quaked from effort, the rarely strained muscles protesting further movement.

Jubilee strode towards her, actually offering a little smile. "The dicks right. It's actually better to walk than stop completely. It's healthier or something." She chomped her gum loudly before snapping it again. "I'm Jubilee. You're Twilight, right?"

She could only nod in reply, coughing on some phlegm before she verbally added, "Or call me Olivia. Whichever."

"Kitty told me about you." She said cryptically, pursing her lips in thought. "She said she saw you and Logan practically making out in the east hallway! Is that true?"

Olivia gasped at Jubilee's audacious comment and choked on the moisture she'd been struggling with. She bent over in a coughing fit, trying to clear the passage and figure out how she should respond! Gosh, were all the girls at this school so spirited and bold?

Jubilees cocoa colored eyes got wide, and her jaw fell open. "Ohhhhmigod! It's true!"

Quickly Olivia began to shake her head no, trying harder to get her throat clear!

"N-no!" she managed, coughing a little more in the respite of her sentence. "No, we weren't. We're just-"

"Just what?" Jubes pried, her beautifully slanted eyes betraying her interest in her answer.

"We're...close." This was hard. After last night, she knew the word fit, but they also weren't together. There was no word to really describe where she and Logan were relationship wise. They were in some sort of sucky limbo where they were waiting for the time to be right.

"How close?" she further pressed, leaning in like a pushy interrogator.

Avoiding her stare, Olivia kept her head bowed. Finally, she answered. "He's into Jean."

Jubilee groaned in annoyance. "Oh don't I know it, it's annoying, right? She's married and he's still hard up for her!" The girl took Olivia's arm and coaxed her to walk with her. "He's been in love with Jean for like- ever! Jean used to flirt with him a bit but always maintained things with her boyfriend Scott. They got married a couple months ago and Logans been grumpier than usual because of it."

Wow, so Logans thing with Jean was pretty well known around here? She guessed he didn't exactly keep it secret being the bold man that he was, but it also put into perspective why Logan had told her that he needed time to get over it before moving on.

She looked at Jubilee, confused by her behavior. As braisen as she was, she seemed nice. Intrepid, possibly, but nice.

"So what about you Twilight? Do you have a thing for Colonel Grumpy Bear?" Jubilee showed off a bright toothy smile. "I sure as hell do!"

Olivia felt put on the spot and uncomfortable by the question, and sensing this, Jubilee put an arm around her encouragingly.

"Oh come on, I won't bite just because you think he's hot too! Tell me!"

With a sheepish smile, she relented and nodded.

Her companion squealed, "I know right?! Logans built like a fricken steed! I'd love to take him for a ride!"

_ Oh god, she meant_- cue blushing!

"It's not like that for me." She divulged, though why she couldn't be sure. "Logan just was there for me after something really bad happened."

"There's a lot of rumors about that." Jubes remarked tactlessly, leaving out the fact that a lot of them were spread by her. "The Professor didn't tell us much. Just that you'd be joining us in training when you felt you were ready and that you'd be finishing up high school come September." She faced Olivia with a gleeful grin. "The rumor mill is churning out stuff like, Logan rescued you from people who like to experiment on mutants and that they were going to cut you open and turn you into something else! There's another one that says you have sex powers that make men want you!"

Utterly shocked, Olivia gaped at Jubilee. "You've got to be kidding!"

The bubbly brunettes expression fell in disappointment. "Aww, you mean it's not true? Then why is Remy up in your room all the time, damn!"

"You know about that?" Liv asked after a short pause.

Her walking buddy shrugged. "Yeah, it's common knowledge though. He told me when I asked him where he was going with two lunches on Wednesday. He said you weren't ready to come out of your room yet and that he had been taking meals to you so you wouldn't have to get stressed out by all of us."

Olivia felt a strong pang of guilt over that. "It's nothing personal to you or anyone else. I just don't like crowds very much these days."

"Well, you're gonna have to get over it if you're going to enjoy your stay here. I'm not trying to be mean, but this isn't the place for someone who's shy. We're not just a school, we're a family, we're here for each other. You don't hide from your family."

That had oddly been touching, Olivia realized with a gentle smile. From the moment she had been brought here, she had felt warmly welcomed, and Jubilee, though not someone she would normally seek out for companionship, was telling her that the sense of warmth was in reality a family bond.

"We're all mutants here." She continued. "It can get a bit crowded, and we all step on each others toes sometimes, but we get over it and remember what's important. You've gotta let us in or else you'll get nothing out of what the institute has to offer."

"Do you speak from experience?" She ventured curiously.

Jubillee paused, looking at Olivia with pride. "Yeah. I do." She laughed a bit, watching her yellow converse trample the grass as they walked. "Actually, it was Logan who made me see it. I guess I had a stick up my ass."

Finally Olivia felt a draw to the girl, a kinship that could blossom into friendship. Gently, she asked, "What brought you here?"

The girl sighed, blowing a small bubble with her gum to bide her some time to answer. "I grew up in California. My folks were pretty wealthy. I guess that's why they were killed." Olivia felt a cold chill shoot up her spine, her eyes widening. "I was taken to an orphanage but I hated it and ran away. I lived on the streets a lot, and spent a lot of time at the mall swiping food and other stuff I needed. I learned I had powers around that time and used to put on shows for tips to get by. It was around that time the X-men found me and took me in."

"I'm sorry about your parents." Olivia said, hugging her arms from the chill her words had caused her in spite of the summer heat.

"Thanks but don't be. I'm where I belong now, and everyone has a pretty awful story about how they came here."

The conversation had made Olivia reflect on her own situation. Maybe Logan had been right when he said she was feeling sorry for herself. She had only known of her own pain and suffering up until now and though she had never outright claimed her situation to be the most unbearable, she often wished she were someone else to alleviate the weight she was under. Listening to Jubilee though, she was faced with the revelation that all mutants had a story. If she had not endured the situation she had, it would have been something else, possibly worse.

She had been feeling sorry for herself.

"Thank you for telling me." She said, downhearted by her own selfishness. "I guess maybe I don't have it so bad after all."

"We're mutants, Olivia, we just tend to get the short end of the stick. It's life." She flashed her a dazzling smile, "Besides, it's a worthy trade off to have such awesome talents, right?"

Olivia shrugged, "I wouldn't know, all I can do is go invisible. It's hardly show stopping."

"Oh come on," Jubillee insisted, poking her cheek accusingly. "Like you don't use it to sneak around and eavesdrop on people!"

"No, of course not!" She insisted defensively! "That'd be so-so- wrong!"

Jubes snorted, looking sorely disappointed , "Prude."

"Is that what you would do?"

"Hmm...I guess if I used my powers that way no one would trust me. Maybe it's a good thing all I've got are firecrackers."  
"If you have the breath to talk you have the breath to run, now move!" Olivia and Jubes both turned, looking up at a tall man with neatly combed golden brown hair and red tinted sunglasses. His face was shaved baby soft and revealed a dimple in his chin. It didn't look cute the way he was looking at them. "Come on, pick up your feet!"

Olivia hated getting in trouble, and she instantly obeyed and got back to running, leaving Jubilee to argue with him. It wasn't long before she got winded again, and she still had two laps out of her five to go! She was back to walking, about ready to just give up and head inside.

_Did you think that you had escaped, my dear?_

A chill of dread rushed through her every nerve ending, her body instinctively going rigid and slightly transparent at the sound. She recognized it, if only she could place who it belonged to!

"Who's there?" She cried, eyes darting this way and that. No one was there and there was no reply. Still though, she felt as though she were being watched which left her rattled and unsteady.

Apprehensively she started to jog once again. Maybe it had been her imagination? No, she couldn't be convinced of that, even if pretending it to be the case would calm her down. That voice had sounded close, close enough where she should have been able to see where it had come from.

She pushed herself harder now, wanting distance between herself and the place she had heard it.

**x**

In the days that followed, Olivia met many others in the X-mansion, but still found herself drawn to her room in search of quiet and solitude. It was hard to want to be around everyone, who seemed care free and light when she felt so dark and burdened.

The Professor had scheduled for her some visits with him to talk about what had happened and how to effectively cope. Jean Grey was constantly present in order to oversee the process in case she got uncomfortable over the Professors gender, which Olivia was grateful for. Still, it was slightly awkward considering she had feelings for Logan and the only reason they weren't together was his fixation on the redhead. To further exacerbate things, she also learned Jean was a telepath, a fact which was constantly intimidating, especially when the woman had gently told Olivia that she had a habit of 'projecting'. Apparently, that meant she had been broadcasting her thoughts and feelings for all local telepaths to hear.

"Don't worry too much about it." She had patiently explained, seeing easily how uncomfortable it made her. "Both the Professor and myself are able to tune out the white noise those who project too loudly. A lot of people do it."

They were alone in Xaviers office for their first session and steadily getting nowhere because of Olivias battle over her nerves.

"I don't want to do it at all. What goes through my mind is private." She whispered, unable to meet Jeans eyes as they spoke.

"And rightly so. I will not invade your privacy, Twilight." Her warm hand came to rest on Olivias knee. Her voice remained soft and even. "I'm here to help you. It's going to be hard work, but I can help you."

There was silence, in which Olivia felt her thoughts racing with all the reasons why she didn't want to be there with this woman. She was ashamed and humiliated by it, knowing that Jean wanted only the best for her, but she just couldn't get how Logan felt about her out of her mind!

After a long gap in the conversation, Jean asked. "Is it because of Logan?" The slight jump Olivia made when she said it was the perfect answer. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You said you wouldn't invade my privacy." Olivia repeated, feeling increasingly threatened.

"I didn't." She replied placidly with a knowing smile.

Turning her face into the sofa they sat on, Olivia stared unseeingly through the fabric. "I didn't realize it was so obvious."

"It was when you caught him talking to me." She admitted. "Did he tell you why he came to me that day, Olivia?" She shook her head no. "He told me he may have found someone else. It was a last chance he was giving me, and he tried to convince me to take it, as you saw."

Olivia dared to shift her luminous violet gaze towards , trying to read her expression. That slight smile, the relaxed nature of her brow, and the warmth in her eyes... Olivia believed her to be an honest person, but there was more she had to know. Maybe it wasn't right of her to ask, and she knew she'd feel on the spot if situations were reversed, but she simply had to know.

"Why don't you love him?" she asked at last, making Jeans expression fall slightly.

At this, the woman leaned back away from her, averting her green eyes to look beyond the panes of the nearest window. It looked like it was going to rain.

"I'm sorry, that was too bold."

"No." Jean said, shaking her head and appearing deep in thought. "Between you and I, Olivia?" To which the girl nodded. "I do love him, in my own way. He's wild and reckless, and his concentrated attention always made me feel lucky. But I already had a guy, a guy I wasn't about to risk loosing, even for Logan. If I had never met Scott then...but no." She said, derailing her train of thought. She shifted her stare confidently back to Olivia. "In your life Olivia, you'll be faced with the knowledge that you're meeting one of a kind people. People like Logan. Also...people like Gambit." Olivias heart lept at Jeans precise perception. "You'll have to choose between people one day, and when that day comes, you'll realize for yourself why I made the decision I did."

It was hard for Olivia to wrap her head around, but in her presence she came to know more intimately that she had more growing to do as a woman. Maybe her situation with Remy and Logan wasn't dissimilar to the position Jean had found herself in with Scott and Logan. Who was to say which was the right or wrong choice. It left her deeply in thought.

"Be patient with him." Jean added comfortingly. "He takes off because it's part of who he is. He has to wander and he has to fight. It's what he knows, and doing those things somehow makes him remember what he needs to about himself."

"What do you mean?"

"Has he told you?" She asked vaguely.

Olivia somehow followed the question. "About weapon X?" She offered.

"I suppose he has then." She toyed with the fringe of her long red locks. "He trusts you then. What I mean was Logan was experimented on and ultimately made into a weapon. After it happened he found himself doing a lot of different things to cope. He runs off to drink, pick fights-"

"Lay around." Olivia added with a sad sigh.

"Yes, that too." She agreed, "He does it because he expects himself to feel better, but in the end, it makes him feel empty. It reminds him of the good work he's doing here at the school and what he's coming home to."

Olivia rested her temple to the sofa cushion, listening to Jeans impressive awareness of Logans actions. There was no way she had come to a conclusion like that without having dipped into his mind before.

"Have you ever...done to him what you're going to do to me?"

Jean nodded, divulging. "Just once. He asked me to. He was flirting and wanted me to just see the dirty things he was thinking but I saw a lot more." Jean actually blushed at that.

"Then you were hooked?" Olivia said with a jesting smile, knowing somehow they had experienced the same draw to the Wolverine. Something beyond his brooding and brusque exterior and to the heart of a man who had spent his years alone, who deep down, though he'd never say it, was lonely.

Jean and Olivia stared at each other for a long moment, each coming to the same epiphany as the other. In answer, Jean warmly said, "I was."

How this serious discussion had turned into this was a mystery, but they both from it seemed to have found a comfortable place for their relationship to start. Jean seemed oddly peaceful about it.

"But yes," She said, getting back to the topic in question. "like him, I am going to slip into your mind and memories and see if we can sort through all of your chaos. But for us, the end of each session when I'm satisfied you've come to a positive conclusion, I will take that portion of the memory and place it at a distance from your present state of mind. It'll make it appear as though the trauma happened some time ago. It will be emotionally and physically demanding, so we'll be doing it after dinner on the days scheduled so you can go directly to bed." She leaned forward, her delicate fingers sliding onto Twilights shoulder, "But I can promise you, you will notice a difference after the very first session."

The plan was on the surface, simple, but devastating because it involved literally entering the memories where she had been raped with new eyes. Before, she had experienced it as a victim and was powerless to stop it. Now, she was to face what happened with the mind of a survivor. She still wasn't convinced she was there yet, however, but the promise of rapid progress was almost too good to pass up.

She thought of Logan, his promise to help her if she came to the Institute, and how he was rooting for her came to the front of her thoughts. Already he was making good on his promises. It had been days sense training had started, and basic though it was, Logan gave her no elbow room, making sure every day that she was up and outside for the mile jog, and then to an obstacle course, and then light weight training. Other members of the staff oversaw the training as well, it was not Logans exclusive responsibility, but she knew in her heart that he had showed up to make sure the best was gotten out of her. He stood back, watching her and the other students tackle the work as best they knew how. It was purely physical, no powers used.

She wasn't sure if she viewed his expectations as domineering or endearing yet, but she told herself each time he barked at her to pick up her pace of try harder that it was because he cared.

Logan was expecting her best in everything she did here.

Therapy was going to be no exception.

So Olivia agreed, and a few days later after a nice dinner of ham carrots and potatos, she once again found herself in Xaviers office with Charles himself, Jean, and an anxious Wolverine waiting at the door.

"Hey," He said as she was about to walk inside. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

No, her insides screamed, but she put on her bravest smile. "Yeah Big Guy. Jean says that even after the first session I should start noticing some changes. Changes are what I need."

"Look," He said hushedly, leaning in so the two of them could speak in relative privacy. His dark brown eyes held worry. "Lookin back into the past the way they're talking about doing is as good as reliving it. I don't-" He stopped, pressed his lips together in a thin line, and then finished, "I don't want to see you be hurt again."

She glanced into the office where the two telepaths were waiting. It was a concern of hers too. What if they couldn't find any peace in the situations within her mind. What if she panicked and all that was accomplished was sheer terror.

"You've got wrinkles in your forehead." He said quietly, earning him a glance of confusion. He smiled a bit. "Your forehead wrinkles when you're worried about somethin."

It was a small detail, but one that had never been brought to her attention before. It made her smile in spite of the task ahead.

"What a thing to notice, Logan." She clawed her fingers through her long brown hair, and responded, "Well, the Professor and Jean both think if we go slowly that I can handle it. We take small pieces at a time. Apparently the key to success is me being able to say that it wasn't my fault it happened, that the power the wielded over me then doesn't effect me now, and that-" She stopped, feeling his iron clad grasp surround her in an impenetrable embrace. At first, she stood in shock, but it took little convincing to let her relax into him and sponge up his support.

"I'll be out here waitin if you need me." He murmured against her ear, making a blush rise up into her face.

"Thank you." She turned her face into his neck. After a moment they parted and he watched her walk skeptically into the room, the door closing behind her.

He frowned deeply.

Waiting was not something he did particularly well.

Hours passed, and maintaining his post outside the door became increasingly difficult. First he had heard weeping, heart broken and terrified weeping, and then the pungent odor of terror. He'd been instructed to remain outside no matter what he heard, and he found himself pacing in agitation.

What exactly did Chuck think this would accomplish, making her relive all the bullshit she had been put through? HE had to remind himself that this had been Olivias own choice, no matter how unwell it sat with him.

"She still in dere?" Gambits voice came, lacking it's usual bite.

Logan snorted. Apparently the cajuns own worry had brought him here as well.

"Yeah..."

On the opposite side of the hallway, Remy leaned himself again the wall, staring at the door closed off to them.

"But it's been hours." He complained as his arms crossed over his chest.

"Tell me 'bout it." Logan looked over at Remy, scrutinizing him. There were no biting words or accusations, no light playfulness or rivalry.

"Gotta ask," Remy said quietly, his eyes shifting from that door to Wolverine. "If y'like her so much, why haven't you made your move?"

That was a good question, and Logan had begun asking himself what his feelings for Jean mattered in this situation anymore. It was becoming plain to him that his want of Olivia was not a reaction of needing to rebound from the redhead, but rather a separate attraction altogether. He could rationalize that Olivia was still too young for him and he'd have to wait until after she graduated to have a clean conscience in pursuing her, but even to his own morals that excuse fell flat. Olivia was a grown woman. She was making grown up choices like the one she did today, and he'd been watching her get up on her own and showing up to her training sessions without being dragged out of bed. He actually kinda missed tugging her out from between her sheets and strewing her bedding all over her room just to get her out the door. He suspected she enjoyed it as much as he had.

"She's waitin on you t'get your act together." Gambit said with a frown. "Y'gotta act soon or she's not gonna wait."

"Friendly advice?" Logan asked, huffing in a half laugh half snort.

"Maybe." Remy responded as his eyes looked back to the door where he could hear Olivia speaking tearfully within. He shifted uncomfortably, the wait taking its toll on him as well.

He missed being able to have those moments alone with her in her room, eating and shooting the breeze. Lately, with her new schedule of training, appointments with Hank over her health and blood testing, and now these extensive telepathic therapy sessions, there had been little time to meet up with her. He found much to his surprise he missed her. He'd learned about her love of music, her goals to be on broadway, her beloved Maestro, and even how she was waiting on Logan to get over Jean.

Suddenly, Remy smirked. "Remy knows somethin Logan don't."

Logan rolled his eyes, "Yippee."

"It's bout Livia!" The cajun flashed a wide toothy smile. "N'a secret she has!"

Logan hated this kinda shit.

"If you're gonna say it, say it, and shut up already."

Remy came sauntering over with a knowing smirk. When he reached Logan, he whispered, "She likes d'claws Logan."

"Yeah, she said she found em' interesting."

"No mon ami," He said again, his eyes suddenly luminous. "She _likes_ d'claws... ne l'obtenez vous?"

The two mens eyes met, one gauging the others words while the other just smirked to himself.

"The claws?" Logan repeated, a glimmer of understanding in his risen brow. "You're sure about that?"

"Oui!" Gambit said with a chuckle, "Was a lil game we was usin to get t'know one another. She asks a question, we both answer. I ask a question, we both answer. Remy might have asked about something that had unexpectedly turned her on."

_Hot damn._.. Olivia felt that way about his claws? He felt his hands tensing, feeling the knives biting against the inside of his skin, itching to come out now. He'd have to put this to the test, just to see if it was true.

"Why'd you tell me that?"

Remy shrugged and began to walk away. "Twilight's been turnin down my invitation to dinner every night sinse she came here mon ami. I think you know who she really wants."

Gambit didn't add how that complicated things on his end. Things would have gone so much more smoothly if he'd been able to seduce Olivia on his own, but it looked like other plans were going to have to be put in place. The result would be the same ultimately, whether he was the one to do it, or Logan.

"Give it a try, oui?"

Logan sniffed, not saying thank you or that he would, but his mind was already toiling over what such a comment might mean. His claws? Of all the odd things to get turned on over, but the idea intrigued him. He'd been with girls who'd been into some kinky shit, and he doubted that Olivias interest in his claws was of a bdsm variety. So what would that church mouse of a girl like about his claws that'd make her feel aroused?

The door to Xaviers office creaked open, and Jean stood there with Olivia.

"Merdi, what the hell-?" Gambit gasped, rushing forward instantly. "Belle?"

Olivia didn't answer. Her usually luminous violet eyes were dull, grey, and unfocused, her body barely there as it struggled with it's mutations desire to vanish. She shook with every breath, which came from her chest in short bursts. She'd been hyperventilating.

Logan was too shocked to process what he was seeing, watching as Gambit cupped Olivias pale transparent cheek and tried to talk sweetly to her to rouse the girl from the odd stupor she was in. It was only a few short seconds before his temper boiled over and he turned on the telepaths.

"What the fuck is this?!" He shouted, advancing into the office and leaving Olivia to Remys admittedly much more gentle methods. "She came to you for help and she looks fucking traumatized!"

Jean met Logans anger calmly, saying, "She did very well Logan, you should be proud of her. What you're seeing now is just her exhaustion and the strain she was under. Wait until tomorrow, you'll see what kind of good work she did here today."

"You think this is good work?" He pointed to Olivia as she sank into Remys embrace. At the touch, Remy too started to vanish. "She's a husk!"

"Logan," Xavier said patiently but firmly as he wheeled his electric chair forward. "Jean had to literally accompany Olivia into the circumstances of her trauma, taking it in small pieces to cope with. Doing so did in fact make Olivia reface the circumstances of her victimization. Right now, Olivia is merely dissociated, a defense mechanism to enable her to cope with what she had faced. It is a common, and temporary."

"Logan, the professor is right." Jean agreed, "Dissociative episodes are normal for trauma survivors, expected even. their mind goes to a 'safe place'."

"I don't give a shit whats normal, you guys did this to her!" Logan roared.

"She asked us to." Xavier restated, steepling his fingers as he bowed his head. "She chose to take the path that would reap the most results regardless of difficulty."

Logan glanced to Remy, who was speaking softly to her in french with a comforting smile. The two men shared a look, and Remy too communicated his displeasure at Olivias present state, embracing her so she would not see but glaring murderously to Logan. They both felt the same.

"Get her upstairs, Gumbo." Logan ordered, knowing Olivia needed sensitivity right now, something his present state of rage wouldn't provide.

"Oui." He said as he put an arm around her, coaxing her towards the hallway to the east wing.

The arguing of the the three he left behind faded into the background as they reached the stairs. He began to wonder about the wisdom of taking the elevator though. Still, the easiest method would be-

"Come on now, petite." He murmured warmly as he scooped her up weightlessly into his grasp. Her head instantly found it's place on his shoulder, her body turning inwards to curl into him. "Up we go." He began to ascend the stairway.

"Remy?"

He looked down, pleased to see that she was slowly becoming visible again, and by relation, he was as well.

"Hey there, chere." He greeted her, voice dripping like honey from the comb. "Y'had us all worried, off somewhere else in that head a'yours. Welcome back."

She didn't reply right away, an arm lifting to curl around his neck as her head tucked under his chin against his throat. She was still shaking, but there was a familiar smell. Before the session had begun, they told her when they were finished that she would need to do something called ground herself, which was focus on something in the present to keep her mind from drifting back into the past. She latched onto Gambits smell. It was smokey from his cigarettes, distantly spicy, and there was some sort of light cologne. She inhaled it deeply, not knowing that her actions were giving the cajun goosebumps.

"Now there," He chided as he rounded the bend for the next flight of stairs. "Remy might think you're flirtin with him, dun give the man false hope."

"You're a good man, Remy." She said thinly, her voice weak, strained, and small, "Thank you for helping me."

He turned his head and rested his cheek to her brow, knowing she would not think that of him for much longer. She was a sweet girl, but doing this made him miss someone else entirely. He knew he had developed a genuine attraction to Twilight, but his mind always seemed to roll back to that saucy brunette with the skunk stripe in her hair. Sadly, he pushed those feelings away. That was over now, and for good reason. Rogue would never love him after what he was about to do, and to be honest, he wondered how he would live with himself after getting to know the girl he now carried. The plan was so much more simple when it was just a matter of wooing a girl he didn't know and getting her in bed.

It was for the greater good, however, he reminded himself. This was bigger than him, and it was bigger than her. There was but one mutant in the world with the perfect genetics for Sinisters plan, and no matter how inhumane it was, it would save the lives of countless millions.

He managed to get Olivias door open and carried her to her bed. Setting her down away from him, he sat at her feet, un buckling her boots and gently tugging them off her feet. Damn, she needed new boots. They sure made her feet stink. He wrinkled his nose a bit and dropped the shoes on the floor.

"Y'want to sleep in dis, chere?" he asked before he did anything else.

OIivias drowsy gaze stared up at him. She felt so weak and so shaken, but God help her, Remy had carried her all this way like a gentleman, and was about to tuck her in to sleep. Maybe it was the need of comfort. Maybe she simply wasn't in her right mind. Whatever the reason, what she did next couldn't be taken back. Her hand reached up, grasping the bicep of his trenchcoat. She gave it a little tug, urging him forward.

That little tug made him look down into her eyes, which were slightly glazed over from tears. Was she wordlessly asking him to come down to her, to protect and comfort her?

He glanced to the door he had kept open, having fully intended on exiting after he'd slipped her into bed, but now...

"Remy?" She whispered, laying there helplessly. "Do you still want to kiss me?"

He sucked air into his lungs and held it there. He was a slippery cad but how could he take advantage of her in a state like this?

At his hesitance, she whispered, "Please?"

Her plea was tearing down the already thin resolve he had to not touch her, and in spite of himself he reached forward with his oddly gloved hands and caressed her cheek. She had already told him that she'd given her first kiss to Logan, and he had known that would have eventually been the case with the feelings she was harboring for the idiot. Knowing that she was no longer saving her lips for that first kiss was giving him a window of opportunity to follow through with his agenda. But could he really go through with it now?

Her skin was so soft though, and her hair as he grazed his fingers through the strands was delicate and soft. He could easily lower himself to her and let himself taste the splendor she was offering him. Not having it within himself to refuse, he gradually bent forward, bracing his forearm beside her head, nearly touching face to face.

"You sure dis is what y'want?" He said hushedly.

Staring up into his eyes this close to her, she knew. With Logan insisting on having time to himself to recover from his feelings for Jean, and her in need of some sort of physical comfort, she gave a nod and offered her lips up towards his own.

With a slow exhale, he lowered himself the rest of the way, lightly brushing his lips against hers. He moved slowly, applying slight pressure and going no deeper. For the moment. He had to be sure she was comfortable.

She made a little sigh, lifting her hand to graze her fingertips over his temple and into his thick satiny mane. This kiss was different from Logans. It was slow, calculated, and sweet where Logans had been savory, passionate, and building.

However, when she responded with a gently motion of her own lips, everything changed. Remys lips pressed down a little more firmly, opening slightly to suckle her lower lip, sending an unexpected jolt of pleasure through her inexperienced body! He gave the lip a tender tug, and she couldn't hold back the need for a puff of air! He smiled, pulling his face back to witness for himself what he'd done to her. She was visible now, her cheeks pink, and eyes regaining some color.

He chuckled, "Satisfied?"

She nodded slowly, surprised when he lowered his face again, nuzzling her her ear. "Remy dun believe you, chere. He tinks you might be after more."

Oh God, more? _Of that_? It was an exhilaration prospect, and a welcome one at the moment. Her mind in a fog, she nodded again, indicating she was willing to keep going.

With a pleased rumble in his chest, Remy slowly reached into his trenchoat and pulled out a random playing card. He tossed it blindly towards her door, and hitting it's mark on the door handle and making an explosive pop, the barrier rushed shut with a burst of magenta fire.

"How bout a lil' privacy then." He cooed, his lips returning once more to her and closing over her. This time the kiss went deeper, and his free hand slipped against her side. His palm traveled from her hip up her waist, rumpling her tank top up her ribcage. The sensation of his bared fingers and gloved palm against the bare skin made her shiver, and she wondered if he was going to move further up towards he breasts, but no. He stopped and went back down, content for the moment to touch the skin of her torso. She moaned lightly, slanting her mouth against his and experimenting with pressures and suction, and like he had to her, she took his lower lip between her lips, this time applying a little pressure from her teeth.

The resulting groan made her eyes snap open in surprise, his hand stilling on her ribs and slipping under her body. It made her back arch upwards so that her breasts cushioned his chest, and he stared back down at her as they shared a gaze.

"Tell me, m'chere." He asked breathily. "You say those boys took all your firsts from you, oui? Remy been meaning to tell you that he dun think that's so."

Her eyes widened. Why would he bring this up now?

"How can you be sure?" She asked, confused.

He purred softly, his lips against hers when he spoke. "Because they were _boys_, mon ange. Children pretending. Remy can guarantee he can show you somethin new for you to experience."

The thought both terrified and excited her. She trembled and turned her face away. Remy quickly dipped his head into the exposed skin, beginning to suckle the junction of her neck and shoulder, drawing firmly on it to leave a mark. In surprise, she arched and moaned more loudly.

"Remy!" She exclaimed, her hands gripping the lapel of his trenchcoat. Her eyes closed, enjoying the cascades of sensation he was giving her. He was convincing, she mused, finding her core tightening in need. "Wh-what do you mean something new?"

He ceased his sucking to give her neck a lick from shoulder to ear, enjoying how it made her lightly squirm beneath him. There was a lovely blotchy red mark on her neck now. His mark. He was getting excited now, and he was thinking she was feeling the same way.

"Well," He said, leaning up slightly to observe his handiwork. She looked so adorably aroused! "I can give you _pleasure_, chere." He felt her tense and he quickly assured, "Non, dun be scared now. You can keep your clothes on even." That wandering hand slowly drifted to her jeans, palming her outer thigh and working slowly inwards. "Let me touch you, chere. I'll give you what those boys never could."

She felt defenseless to stop him. He had successfully piqued her curiosity over something she had thought wasn't possible. Shyly, she blushed, keeping her head turned away. She wasn't sure what to do.

He saw that she needed convincing, and he returned to that part of her neck that had made her squirm before, nipping and suckling it in varying intensity. She squeaked, his hand busy massaging her thigh and inching towards his destination.

"Clothes on?" She echoed his words, and he could hear the slowly mounting desperation in her voice.

"Mmhmm." He hummed, rubbing his nose along the shell of her ear before latching on the lobe. Her hips bucked, obviously against her will because she was now blushing even hotter.

"Let yourself go, Livia." He urged as his searching hand came to cup the junction of her legs. Slowly, he rubbed his palm up and down against her womanhood, watching her face closely. Her lashes fluttered, her lips parted, and she breathed in deeply. He smiled."Dats right, let Remy take care a'you, chere."

He shifted his weight to lay beside her, scooping an arm around her shoulders and drew her tightly against him. His hand left her mound briefly to coax her legs apart even further. She was shy about doing this, turning her face away and wriggling her hips back a bit.

"Come on, relax, trust Remy." He breathed against her jaw. He lifted his hand and turned her face back to him for a kiss. That seemed to do the trick. After a few seconds she forced herself to relax, and she cracked her legs open on her own. As a reward for her compliance, he delved his tongue against her lips and was delighted to find her own tentatively come to meet him! He groaned and drank of her mouth deeply now.

He started to rub her again, and the two entangled in a heated kiss. At last she mustered boldness and began to touch him as well, her finger tips tracing against the hem of his jeans before cautiously untucking his shirt. He hummed in enjoyment as her fingers explored his athletic torso, her fingers like skiers bouncing over the moguls of his abdomen. They slipped around to his back and pulled him a bit tighter against her and together they writhed

He shifted his weight, hovering over her now. He kissed her senseless as he sped up the rhythm of his hand. Her legs twitched a little as she struggled to stay relaxed, and he devoured the little moans she was making as he tried to find the exact place to make her squirm with pleasure.

She broke the kiss, making a loud and heady moan. "Oh God Remy!"

_Merdi,_ how those words set fire to him, his arousal engorging and straining uncomfortably against the zipper of his pants. He could feel the organ pulsating with need as his hand furiously moved against the spot. His hand changed positions, his thumb pressing against it while the rest of his hand teased her concealed tunnel.

She was starting to writhe in place, tossing her head to and fro. Her chest was heaving deeply for air, her hand clutching his body tightly to her.

He feasted on her neck, encouraging her to accept what was coming, "Oui, dats it, chere! This is what you want!" She whined in need as something tight and confusing built up in her womanly place, his name in the air again, only in a higher octave. His own arousal was becoming painful as he watched her climax close in on her. "Let it happen, Livia, cum for Remy, let him take you t'heaven."

There was a moment where her body went stiff as a board, and then, she arched with a rapturous cry. She wasn't sure what was happening to her, but it was all consuming, rushing through her viens and into every tingling nerve in her body! It was, as Remy had said, utter and complete heaven! Her hips shuddered against his hand, her thighs trembled, and Remy just watched her enjoy the pleasure with an accomplished grin.

When she was done, laying there panting tiredly in his arms, he kissed her lips delicately.

"Feel better?"

She nodded, stupefied by what she had just experienced. Growing up in a religious household, she had never masturbated. She had been taught that it was a sin. Apparently no more sinful than what had just happened here, though. She wondered if the Lord still loved her, even after such a blatant moment of weakness. Staring up at Remys smouldering and kind eyes though, she was sure this couldn't be wrong.

"Ever had an orgasm before, belle?" She was already consumed with a blush, so she just embarrassedly shook her head no. Pride swelled in Remys chest and he kissed her swiftly once more. "Remy should go." He murmured huskily. "Y'understand how...hard...it can be for a man to witness a beautiful lady come to pleasure." And he couldn't bring himself to do what he had to right now. Maybe it would become a missed chance, but he couldn't do it tonight after she had experienced such a trial. the night was about her and her needs, not his or his mission.

Awareness entered her eyes, and though she wasn't sure if she should or not, her hand slipped down his belly to his groin. He tensed at the touch, and she gaped at what she felt. It was large and thick, forced flat against his lower stomach like it had been vacuum sealed in place. It had to be uncomfortable for him, and sensitive to her worries about sex, he was going to leave like that? Her hand began to stroke the length of it up and down. He had to be at least 8 inches in length!

"Oh Remy-"

He cut her off, his lips crashing back down to hers needily, groaning madly and pushing himself into her hand. Unsure of what she was supposed to do with it, she rubbed him in much the same way he had rubbed her. Had she really done this to him? She had no idea the effect just watching her climax would have on him!

Remys mind was suddenly only focused on one thing. Release. He had to release. He couldn't think of his mission, or of Olivias past. He could only hope he wouldn't scare her as his hand went down to where her hand was touching and began to unzip the torture chamber his pants had become. With a grunt, the organ popped out right into her inexperienced hand! In relief he paused just to appreciate how her soft hands felt caressing his sex.

She froze, shocked at what she was holding. She was no stranger to it, having had similar organs shoved in ever hole her body could accommodate. This one however, was different. It was hot to the touch, smooth and well clipped, and it was so hard because of he watched her, she knew. This was Remys manhood. This was not something he would let hurt her. Still, she was hesitant, unable to wrap her mind or her fingers around it.

His own hand did it for her, his hand taking hers and eagerly guiding it to close around the swollen phallus. She gasped and he groaned as he made her pump her fingers up and down the shaft.

"Forgive me, chere." He moaned into her neck, his hips rocking into the motions, "Please forgive Remy for dis," He hissed as she suddenly began to move of her own accord, and his hands left hers to work and slid up her body to grope her breasts greedily.

She brought both hands to him, watching his face as she greenly worked him. He was panting, staring down in her eyes affectionately as she smiled up at him.

"Don't ask for forgiveness... You helped me. I'll help you."

Her hands began to move faster and a passionate slur of french tumbled from his lips as he peppered her face with appreciative kisses. She could make out her name amidst them, and also make out the words she knew. Chere, meaning dear and ange meaning angel, but the rest's meaning was utterly lost to her, but hearing him exclaim them in such passion had her entranced!

his face began to look tense, and his hips bucked hard into her hands. "Gettin close, petite, _ah-! Ah m'chere_-" and then there was another incoherent sentence in his native tongue that gave Olivia chills! His voice grew more intense, more urgent, and his accent grew thicker. Oddly, she detected that his penis was doing the same exact thing. "_Livia, Ah'm gonna c_-"

His sentence was cut off suddenly, and he pushed her hands out of the way, replacing them with one of his own, ready to catch his own hot seed. He moaned heartily in pleasure as his balls clenched mightily, forcing burst after burst of cum down his twitching rod and into his waiting palm! He didn't want to remind her of the past, and not knowing what they had done with their semen in regards to her. He didn't want her to even see his own for fear of tainting this perfect moment.

She was touched by his sensitivity and she praised him with kisses up and down his jaw. "Oh Remy..." This had been amazing. She had done this to him! She had made him feel this good!

He didn't move. God in heaven had this really just happened? He had thought that Logan had his foot too deeply in the door for it to get this far. Maybe he would be able to fulfill his mission after all?

And just like that, his own thought direction ruined what should have been a moment of simple bliss. Damn that blasted mission and what it was going to do to this innocent girl! Before he withdrew, he put on his best smile so as not to alarm her.

"Tank y'Livia..." He drawled thickly, pressing one last kiss to her lips. "Sleep now."

She didn't need to be told twice, and she turned her head and closed her eyes. Remy stood, still covering his penis with his hand. He walked to her dresser, grabbed a tissue, and cleaned himself up. When he glanced back to the bed, Olvia was sound asleep, the strain of her therapy and the intensity of what had just happened between them lulling her quickly.

He zipped himself and walked to the door, and turning out the light, he stepped outside, directly into the path of a very violent looking Wolverine, claws extended from tight trembling fists.

Gambit narrowed his eyes with a chastising grin. "Told'ya homme. Y'shoulda made a move."

**I'm evil...**


	14. Phone Calls

**Sorry for the wait for this chapter my faithful readers, but it took a little bit to get right, and you guys deserve the best! **

**Thank you to ChibiCheshire, LoveerPR-SN-HP, lauralist, Wolf93ee, gOthiCkUrOcH069, Fredrick van winkle, Monarchslayer, and scytheyou for their favorites and follows!**

**DragonFyre18- Yeah, they'll get past it, but there's also a lot of thoughts and feelings going on in all corners of the spectrum. They need to put their big kid panties on and be adults about it. Also, I think everyone wishes they had a first kiss like that one . **

**Guest- Here's your update!**

**MonarchSlayer- Thank you, it was exactly what I was going for :D**

**Crash22244- Heh, I had fun doing the build up for that kiss! It was fun shutting the man down, hehe!**

**StarlitStar- Thank you! I hope Logan gets his act together myself!**

**MakeylaDevine- You really think it's the best? Wow, thank you so much ;-; Very deeply grateful for your praise!**

**Thanks to everyone! Now on t the story!**

His more than vocal discussion with Jean and the Professor hadn't made any headway, no matter how loudly opinions were voiced. They were still determined to follow through on this 'therapy' and he felt no better about its effectiveness. All sides were resolved to hold fast to their views, and with no plans on compromising, they all had parted ways in varying states of vexation. In Logan's mind was burned the image of Olivia's vacant grey stare and shadowed eyes, a carapace where there had once been life. Even just briefly recalling the haunted image of her after reliving the worst horrors of her life was enough to tempt his thirst for violence.

He'd told the girl he'd be rough on her, that it'd take hard work and sacrifice to overcome what she'd been through, and that he'd be there to help and guide her, but he'd never even entertained the idea that what she'd have to do would be so inhumane! Her flashbacks couldn't be helped, he knew enough about going through shit to know that the bad came with no notice. It was something a hardened weapon like him had to live with, but he was a soldier! That came with the territory! Olivia had this thrust upon her unfairly. How could they make her road to recovery so difficult after he was already being so hard on her felt unfair.

Yet he had to remember she had chosen this method, as Jean and Chuck had been so happy to remind him! She thought the benefits outweighed the risk, but she had come out of that session looking like hell! He took a moment to be glad he'd never let them poke around in his own memories too much!

He bounded up the steps towards her room, taking them two at a time. He knew she was probably sleeping by now, but for some compelling reason he couldn't untangle he needed to make sure she was resting safely. Maybe he needed the reassurance that she really did only need some rest and once he saw her doing just that he'd feel more hopeful, but as he reached the top of the stairs to head to her room, a scent accosted him like a thief in the night.

He smelled sex. Beyond the gently wafting scent of brown sugar vanilla that Olivia had resumed using on herself was a mixture of smells he had hoped to never breathe on the same breath. Pheromones, arousal, vanilla, and spicy tobacco. Gambit was in her room, Gambit was touching her, Gambit was-

His claws tore through his skin as his fingers tightened up into fists, his entire body beginning to tremble in fury as he stalked slowly towards that door, that inner beast he always tried to cage crouching low and awaiting release. The mix of aroma was overwhelming, there could be no mistake! Gambit was taking advantage of her weakened state, taking His Twilight, His Olivia, HIS girl! His molars ground together and his pupils crept wider with every new sound and smell he experienced as he closed in. A familiar deadly reaction had begun taking place inside him. His blood felt burning lava hot in his veins, the fragile cords pulsating as adrenaline stoked rage permeated his body down to every last molecule, demanding blood to be spilled. He'd kill the cajun. He'd tear into his flesh until there was nothing left but an unidentifiable mass of wet red pulp!

Thought vanished as he heard movement within, footsteps, and the smell of fresh semen. His irises vanished as his pupils widened completely, and Logan the man was gone. The animal, weapon X, the Wolverine remained, the cage thrown open like Pandoras box, consequences be damned.

Olivias door opened, and the cajun stepped through looking quite satisfied. At the sight Remy smirked that cigarette laced mouth of his, and cockily smirked as he shut the door behind him.

"Told'ya homme. Y'shoulda made a move."

There was but a thread holding Wolverine at bay, some sadistic instinct making him want to, just for this second in time, play with his prey. Slowly Weapon X lifted his gaze to Remys to reveal the true nature of what he was about to face, and to his delight, Remys smirk evaporated into alarm.

His voice ground out tensely from his tightened tonsils. "Remember those words Bub. _They're your last_."

Remy had a split second of time where he realized the true nature of the situation. The time for words had passed and he had waved each of them off as idle threats, but now the truth of every warning Logan had given him rushed back like a torrent into his head. In the back of his mind he knew this would be a possibility, and he had always felt confident that he'd hold is own well enough in a fight with Logan, but what was in front of him now was a mere shadow of the man Logan offered himself as to society. This was the identity behind a carefully placed mask and with the viel lifted, Gambit knew without a doubt that he was in trouble! It was as though the humanity inside of the X-man had switched off and now he had to face what was left.

He held up his hands suddenly, quickly saying, "Now homme, it ain't what it se- _MERDE_!"

Claws whipped forward with lightning speed towards his head and with no time to whip out his bo-staff to block the blow, Remy could only dodge, and he did, but not without injury! Logan's claws missed impaling him between the eyes and instead sliced his jaw and ear. The cartilage was perfectly split in half, each part on opposite sides of the nearest claw. The wound swelled with blood which trickled down his neck and onto the collar of his trench coat.

Gambit grimaced from the wound, but kept his eyes on his opponent. There was no time to feel pain with Logans other hand following the first. This time he dodged completely leaving his claws buried up to his knuckles in Olivias bedroom door. Gambit ducked under his ensnared arm and took off down the hallway, knowing it would only take the man a moment to free himself and he'd need every spare sliver of time he could get to stay ahead of the berserker Wolverine had become! In reality, it took Logan even less time than that, and was hot on the cajuns heals, snarling and swiping at him as he fled for open space.

Expertly, Gambit lept completely down the present flight of stairs, landing as lightly as a feline before turning and doing the same to the next. Wolverine was powerful and deadly, but as fast as he was, Remy knew he was faster and that would be his only chance at avoiding further injury! In close combat, he would never get the upper hand. He had to get some distance between them!

A roar from behind, primal and blood thirsty made his blood chill in his veins! He didn't recall the last time he was actually afraid for his life, but right now he was!

With no recourse and needing desperately to bide himself some time, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a hand full of cards and poured a heavy charge into them. They cackled and glowed a neon magenta, and on a dime, the cajun turned on his heal, letting himself fall backwards as he threw all five into Wolverines eyes! The concussive force of the impact and explosion shook paintings from the walls and popped doors ajar! While on his back, not waiting to see the damage he'd done, Remy struck his boot upwards into Logans stomach, toppling him back. With superhuman agility, Remy hopped back to his feet with a twist and turned tail once more.

Logan was savagely clawing at the air for him, his eyes disintegrated from Gambits blast and the flesh on his head thrown open to reveal the shining metal skull beneath! He was past the point of feeling the pain, his only instinct to reach his target and end him! As the skin of his head steadily began to regenerate, his ears stopped ringing enough for him to hear the direction in which Remy had fled. Like an angry rhinoceros he plowed onward blindly towards the sound.

The fight was starting to draw the attention of the mansions other occupants, most of which knew better than to intervene at seeing just who was on a rampage! Remy was glad. He'd have hated for some mutant kid to get plowed over because they attempted to help him out! With his bo-staff in hand and not worrying about the consequences, he pole vaulted out the nearest window in a shower of splintered glass and out into the night beyond. Motion detectors on the grounds went off, shining light over the grass and the pavement, and out there, Gambit turned and watched as Wolverine came bounding through the gaping window towards him. His bo-staff began to shimmer kinetically.

"Alright, mon ami." He spat, his eyes bleeding out into pools of glowing red from the power he was about to utilize. "It's been a long time comin. Gloves off, whaddayasay?"

A crowd gathered at the broken window, watching with wide eyes as the two mutant powerhouses collided! Gambit swung his staff mightily, smacking Logan in his regenerated face and back away from him like one might a rabid dog! The berserker simply rolled with the blow into a crouch before lunging again! It was as though the blows meant nothing!

With the staff glowing threateningly, Remy spun it over his head before whipping it with all his might into the ground, a kinetic shock wave throwing the Wolverine airborne. The ground cracked was left cracked and cratered from the power of it!

They went on like this a while, Remy using his bostaff like a lion tamer would a chair, and kept the ferocious beast at bay, landing an occasional blow and knocking him back many times, but Wolverine was having enough of being poked around. After a feint to the left, he struck out with his right claws, cleaving Gambits signature weapon in two useless pieces!

Cursing loudly, Remy knew that his luck was running out. Logan was tackling him down with a roar now that he was inside his defenses, and the Cajun acted desperately! Charging one of the halves he was left with, he rammed the rod into Logan's mouth with all his might, shoving it down the mans throat just as a set of claws skewered him through his shoulder!

He was too proud to cry out, but the pain was sudden and excruciating ! He arched involuntarily and felt the invading knives twist agonizingly! Forcing himself to get a foot between him and the man who was now trying to get the glowing spear out of his esophagus, Remy fought past the pain. It glowed brighter, a moment away from exploding! With a cry of effort he heaved his boot between them and thrusted, separating them by a few precious yards before it exploded!

Screams from the students filled the air as blood and pieces of flesh splattered the grounds. Remy sat up, swaying as his hand clutched his bloody shoulder. His coat was torn with at least a dozen swipes from his enemies claws, and bloody scrapes were seen between splits in his jeans. He hadn't even processed the lighter blows Wolverine had landed. He had been too occupied trying to save his own life. Still, it looked like he was the victor. He staggered to his feet, surveying where Logan lay.

It was a gruesome sight. Logan's lower body was largely in tact and still moving, but from his chest up was a tattered mess. All the skin on his head was charred or blown away, and there was no throat left to be seen. There was only twitching metallic skeleton and the vertebrae of his writhing spine, which was obviously twisted unnaturally in a few places. His collar bones, shoulders and rib cage were raw and exposed as well.

He heard sobbing from some the students, one of which was Jubilee who was hysterically screaming for the Professor! He himself groaned, just glad that it was over and he could get stitched up.

A sound from Logans already healing body caught his attention though. It was a gurgling rush, and Remy watched with eyes wide as the mans organs regenerated from the inside out! The noise had been made from air rushing from his newly formed lungs past his as of yet bloody and unhealed vocal cords.

He took a staggering step back.

"Oh merde...Je suis couillon..." He murmured to himself. He wiped his sweaty brow, smearing his own blood across it as he reached for some cards. He wasn't about to use the full extent of his powers with the mansion and its kids so close, but how was he going to stop this immortal soldier from tearing him apart?

On his hands and knees, Wolverines voice had returned, and he was howling as his body knit back together. Bones snapped back into place, muscles rethreaded, and organs regrew and restarted. His burning throes of pain didn't last long, and soon, his eyes were leering at the cajun with purpose.

As he spoke his lips reformed over his exposed teeth. "Don't y'get it coonass? You can't stop me! I'm going to kill you for touching her!"  
Remy took a small amount of comfort in the fact that his strange blind rage had somehow worn off, but he knew he was still on the wrong end of those claws. He did all he could. He charged his cards, bluffing with a smirk. "I'm still ready t'go! Twas worth it!"

Logan chuckled darkly, exposing his sharper than average canines. "You talk big cajun, but I can smell a lie. You've lost your confidence!"

Gambit frowned. Okay, bravado had no place here.

"She _asked_ me to stay." He hissed, readying his cards! "Remy had every right to stay and do what he did!"

Logan shook in anger, "She wasn't yours to have!"

"Nor is she yours!" Remy barked back! "In fact I believe you told her there was no 'we' cuz you're still hard up on Grey! D'lady is free game!"

With a roar Logan charged again, "She ain't no GAME!"

Suddenly though, a hand grabbed him from behind, pale and small over his adams apple! Logan grunted and faltered, dropping to his knees but still struggling, imagining his claws sinking into- but his mind spun and went blank. He dropped, too much of his life force sucked out of him for him to continue.

Behind him stood Rogue, holding a glove in her hand and standing proudly in place. Her eyes on Remys were like the green of fresh magnolia leaves and her wavy abundant hair was drifting around her shoulders, the white streak french braided from her forehead to her ear and fastened with clear elastic. Those full blossom like lips were forming an unamused frown as she tugged the glove back on over her deadly poisoned skin.  
"You're an ass, swamp rat." she said numbly, bending down to check on Logan.

Remy couldn't believe his eyes. He was certain he'd have to face the Wolverine again but here she was at his rescue, strong and vibrant as the Louisiana sun! The charge left his cards and with a relived sigh he pocketed them. She had come out here to save him? Even after he had broken it off with her so suddenly?

"Look, che-"

"Save it." She bit back with the spice that Mississippi girls were known for. "Ah didn' do it for you."

"You say dat, but somethin tells Remy different." He offered her a half hearted smile as his hand returned to trying to stem the tide of blood from his shoulder.

She wrinkled her nose spitefully in that cute way he loved. She pointed at the students. "You got no clue in your head what you just showed those kids! They're not field ready, half of em ain't even seen the inside of the Danger Room and y'think it's wise t'get in a fight with Logan? Over who you're trying to fuck? Y'did me a favor dumpin me!"

Beast had approached by now, first aid in his hands, but at seeing Wolverines state and knowing it'd take hefty strength to bring him down to the medical wing for treatment, he dropped the bag and hefted Logans body over his shoulder.

"I hate to interrupt your lovers quarrel," He said as genially, "but you Gambit need to come down to the med room and have that looked at.

Somehow, the defeated mutant gave his good shoulder a little shrug and offered them both an easy smile. As he walked past, he murmured, "Agree to disagree then chere."

They re-entered the mansion through the main entrance, and the students who had been watching began to murmur amongst themselves. Jean had calmly arrived and was talking down their anxieties, but Jubilee was hysterically upset.

Olivia stood in mute shock, hugging her arms against herself. She had heard something beyond her door when she had just fallen asleep, and when she had wandered out to investigate, she'd found Logans claw marks in her bedroom door and a splatter of blood on the carpet. The commotion had been easy to zero in on, but the sight she'd seen with the others had been one out of nightmares. Two men she cared about fighting viciously, blown up, stabbed, and it was all over...over...

Even now it was too much to bear, the words of their argument still ringing between her temples. She had in a weak moment wanted comfort, and Remy had offered it. She hadn't thought about the consequences or how Logan might feel. She'd reasoned he wasn't ready to be the one yet, but after seeing this-no. After hearing that-

"You-" Jubilee said, startling Olivia out of her thoughts. She looked distraught, her eyes narrowed and brow rumpled tightly in distress. "You did this! This is your fault! You talk like you're so innocent but you're fucking with them both, you-"

"Jubes, please," Kitty said, trying to calm her friend , "Twilight...well...she couldn't have known this would happen!"

Jubilee forced her way past Kitty, shoving Olivia hard into the wall, making her wince and shrink back. There was a flutter of hair, and her neck revealed the bold mark that Gambit had put on her. Jubilee hissed venomously, "Are you happy? Now that they've cut each other up over you? Are you happy you-y_ou slut_!"

"Jubilee, that's enough!" Jean took the girls shoulder, trying to pull her back.

The Asian swatted the telepath away and advanced on her, getting nose to nose with an intimidated Olivia and screamed as tears ran down her face! "I thought you cared about them! You said you had a REAL thing for Logan and then you go and screw Remy? You manipulative bitch, look what you did!"

Then came a resounding smack, gasps unanimously rising from all the onlookers.

Olivia blinked as stars shattered across her vision, her cheek stinging and hot from the powerful slap! Everyone was in stunned silence at the outburst, and Jean finally was able to steer the angry girl away from her, and seemingly satisfied now she stormed off to the west wing of the school, towards the dormitories.

They all stared. They whispered. Hearsay and rumor mixed with what they had all just seen becoming a juicy cocktail of truth and her very eyes Twilight saw the consequences of her moment of weakness. Her true feelings laid with Logan and had from the start, but she had been too swayed and flattered by Remys interest, so attracted to him and what he offered that she had acted loosely.

She was a failure.

She had brought them to this!

Now she would have to bear the burden left on her conscience. Feeling her own tears running over the throbbing welt on her face, Olivia turned and ran as fast as she could back to her room.

No one followed.

**x**

Olivia felt very alone. The night of the incident she had collapsed into bed and slept through training the next day and well into the afternoon. No one came to retrieve her. On one hand, as Jean had promised, she felt a difference when she got up, the most notable of which was when she had walked to her door to go downstairs for something to eat. It wasn't until she was half way down the hall that she was hit with the revelation that she hadn't worried anxiously about leaving the safety of her room. The general wariness was still there, and she wasn't looking forward to running into any of the other students, but that small detail was incredible progress!

After she had satisfied her hunger, she called her Maestro, and Mr. Destler listened patiently through the whole of the story, never interrupting as he heard the tale.

A more fatherly part of him wanted to chastise her for any sort of sexual activity at such a fragile time in her life, but another knew she were a woman old enough to make those sorts of decisions on her own. He rubbed his temples, slowly breathing to control his temper. Old enough or not, the thought of his Angel being touched by a man who sounded as disreputable as this Gambit made his facade of eerie calm threaten to crack.

"Angel," He said when she was at last finished, measuring his tone with great care. "Stop blaming yourself for the actions of others. You couldn't have known that your friend Logan would react so strongly to your...indiscretion."

He was trying to be reticent, but Olivia saw through the guise. He was displeased with her.

"Are you disappointed in me?" she asked meekly, rolling tighter into a ball on her bed.

"My own feelings on the matter are not so important as your situation at hand. You must take responsibility for your actions and choose."

"Choose?" She echoed wearily.

"Yes, child." He said firmly. "You cannot truly love both, otherwise it cannot be love at all."

She sucked in a short spurt of breath. "I never said I loved either of them."

"You do not have to tell me such things Olivia. I have watched you sense you were very small and I dare say I am more of a father to you than the jackass blood relation that disowned you." He reclined in his chair and angled the phone to receive his voice better. "You, Olivia, are walking a grey line that is neither fair to you nor the men who are wrapped up in you. You choose one, or choose the other. That is the complete truth."

"How can I do that when Logan is still in love with someone else and Remy is the one being persistent with me?" she lamented, "and I don't even know if either is going to feel anything for me after all of this is said and done. You should have seen them tearing into each other, Donovan." her voice broke, "It was horrible..."

"You don't make choices about who you're going to be with based on who is available." He scolded. "Goodness child, listen to yourself! Your heart is so naively bound that you cannot even detangle your morals from them! This Logan is the one you long for yet he has made it amiably clear he will not pursue you actively until his heart can be complete towards you. This other man persistently pursues you in spite of knowing that you are waiting on the other. Either he is a fool and does not desire a womans whole love and will be satisfied with it in part, or he cares not of you but of his loins. In either case, I will not be vague about who I feel is the better choice."

"Donovan..." She said quietly. "I know Remy might not seem to be the most noble man, but he's been there for me and has treated me very well."

She heard a scoff on the other end of the line. "I do not consider what he did to you last night particularly honorable. You were physically and emotionally strained, asked for but a kiss and was persuaded to do more."

She couldn't argue that. All she had wanted was a kiss, to feel comforted, but that had escalated under Remys mastery of the female body. She was torn over how she felt about it.

"Olivia." He said affectionately, "Please. You are a good well moraled girl. Do not let these changes in your life change who you are, and do not be swayed by the practiced trappings of a womanizing man."

She winced, pained, "Remy wouldn't do that to me."

"How can you be sure?" He retorted. "Your Logan warned you of him and his ways from the start, worrying about what he might do. Tell me again why you chose to ignore his warnings?" When he was met with silence, he sighed, "I do not wish to upset you, but I would be doing you no favors if I withheld the truth. I feel though I can put off seeing you no longer."

Olivia blinked and rolled over on her bed. "You mean you're coming down to the school?" She asked, both excited and worried.

"Yes. I am going to examine my schedule and come down as soon as possible. I believe you are in need of firm guidance."

Twilight groaned to herself, knowing precisely what that meant. Her strict and exacting tutor was going to remind her exactly what he had always expected of her with no argument or hesitance. "Come on, I've already had Logan come down hard on me, I don't think I can handle the both of you."

"It seems to me you have regressed while in that schools walls, child. You used to be prompt at keeping your appointments and had I commanded it, you would have rose before the sun on your own merit." He stood, making his way to his appointment book and began flipping it to the appropriate page.

Once more, Olivia knew that her mentor was right. Under the guise of adjusting to her new lot in life and in the name of gentleness over her abuses, she had let herself become lax and undependable. It was a hard pill to swallow, and had it been anyone else, she might have denied the truth of his words, but she could never deny him, her beloved Maestro.

Her voice showing humility, she replied, "I'm sorry. You're right. Logan tried to tell me something similar not long ago and I chose to ignore him. I guess I have to make some changes."

As he always did, Donovan felt his cool and rigid persona melt at her genuine humility. With deep admiration, he murmured, "Sweet Angel, my prized pupil and most beloved child... If you stray from your desired path I will never be convinced that you will not return to it. I have faith in you."

Her eyes drifted shut at his praise, and she smiled. Reminiscing, she sighed, "Maestro, I wish I were there with you. I want to sit at your feet in front of the fire and listen to you read Shakespeare to me like you used to after a lesson..."

Mr. Destler paused his rummaging through his schedule at her words, his eyes closing and recalling those stolen moments of utter tranquility with a longing he had become familiar with.

"As would I, Angel." He replied gently, wishing for nothing more in the world than to do exactly as she said. "Perhaps soon we shall do so once again."

**x**

That afternoon she dressed and made her way down to the medical wing. She had wanted to go see how the two men were healing, but upon her arrival she had been instructed in no uncertain terms that she would not be allowed. The news had shocked and distressed her, and she sank down into a waiting room seat to let it sink in.

" ," She began quietly, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

The gentle giant tucked his clip board under his arm and sat down in the seat next to her, patting her shoulder with a massive but tender hand.

"I have no doubt that it is the tempers of the men in question who are to blame Miss Fitzgerald." He said with smile, the warm glint in his eyes visible even behind his round spectacles. "But, to be frank, there was a breach of conduct involved. Gambit knew better than to fraternize with someone enrolled as a student, and you who I am sure must have gone over your student handbook by now-" That part was said with a knowing rise to his brow. He was fully aware of the fact that she hadn't. "-willingly let a member of the opposing gender into your room, which is clearly stated as being against the rules for all enrolled students, regardless of age."

Sheepishly, she tucked her hair behind her ear. Oh man, she had really messed up...

"It'll be best for all parties if you wait until this blows over to see them."

"I've never been in trouble in my entire life." She muttered in humiliation.

Hank chuckled and stood. "The good news is that your transcript from your previous school has arrived, and you'll be able to complete high school with much speed with enough self discipline! Maybe only a month or two! And then, of course, you would not be a student, but a ward of the mansion in search of control of her powers." He gave her a little wink. "That is not much time if you have the desire to go forward, as it would require much study on your own time!"

She nodded, understanding his meaning perfectly! Then she would be following all school rules and be able to pursue Logan!

"Thank you , that is good news!" She took a deep breath, choosing to focus on that tidbit. Only two months.

"Also, in our sessions to check up on your health, further dna testing, and gauging the progress of your control over your powers, I am pleased to say we have more results! Here-" He handed her a sheet of paper, a bar graph. "As you can see, when you first arrived, you had minimal control over your invisibility, and with only an hour a days practice it has risen to being able to not only cloak yourself with ease, but also other people as well, and your mastery of cloaking objects has increased exponentially!"

She stared at the graph, seeing the leap in the bars in shock. "I...I don't feel like I was making that kind of progress!"

He chuckled, "Well, no one would see it for themselves if they were as, shall we say, distracted, as you have been. If you applied yourself more, you'd be quite impressed with your progress!"

"My personal mentor has reprimanded me for my lack of discipline recently." She admitted, offering Hank a shamed smile. "With him insisting on visiting I'm sure my performance in everything around here will improve."

"I confess, I look forward to meeting this mentor of yours, as well as seeing you give your all. You seem to have been hiding away, understandably in part, but to fully take advantage of the school you must actively participate!"

"That'll be hard." She said, staring into her lap. "The other students blame me for the fight."

"The two are well loved amongst the student body." He adjusted his glasses and took the sheet of paper back from her. "You must expect rumors until those involved themselves put them to rest. In the meantime, it is not what others think that matters."

"How are they doing?"

"Logans fine, fully healed and sleeping quite heavily." Hank assured her. "Remy has quite a few stitches, and we had to put him under to repair some internal damage but he'll be up and about soon enough."

Olivia stood, breathing out and counting to ten. She couldn't ignore the advice as it came from multiple sources. She's been too wrapped up in Remy and Logan as of late to do what she came here to do. She had to keep her appointments, she had to train hard, and she had to study harder.

"Can you tell them I asked after them? I don't want them to think I don't care."

"Very well!" He said, shaking her hand as she stood to depart. "Good day Miss Fitzgerald!"

"You too Hank."

**x**

In the weeks that followed, Olivia strove to take the advice given to her. She couldn't help the worry and anxiety over her situation with Logan and Remy, nor could she stop the glares and whispers that took place among the other students as she attended her new classes and training with them. It was hard work to stay focused and constantly redirect her thoughts when they strayed in directions that made her anxious, but she didn't want to have to explain to the Professor or her Maestro why she wasn't earnestly doing her best.

Remy made many attempts to call on her at her room and her phone occasionally buzzed with a text from him. Even though she was craving companionship and a listening ear she never answered. The damage had been done, and despite the magnetic draw she felt to him, she knew ignoring it was in her best interests if she was ever going to repair things with Logan.

Logan never sought her out though. As always he led the training exercises and drove her harder than ever, but social calls outside of classes appeared to be over. He didn't wait outside the doors when she had her therapies with Jean and the Professor anymore. To her increasing dismay, he didn't so much as look at her. It felt like he was angry and was passive aggressively taking it out on her. It was as though nothing had ever been there in the first place.

And that was the hardest part of it all.

Her own thoughts were still wrapped up in him and all he told her, and the memories they had built together. She agonized over how he got his metal claws, over the memories he couldn't quite remember, and over him feeling that he was nothing but a weapon, a monster, and an animal. She watched often times as he fled the mansion grounds on his bike, plowing uncaringly through the protestors when they were there and not returning for days. When he returned, he didn't look better, he looked far worse, and his mood around the mansion with everyone he came into contact with reflected his deteriorating temper.

She tried to cope with it. She would wander out into the forest by the school and privately work on her powers to distract herself, away from the scrutiny of the other students. Out there, she would try and find things to turn invisible. Large rocks, trees, herself, anything she could get her hands on. It helped, and what had begun at the beginning of her mutation as a painful transition became second nature to her.

There was an odd new development as well. Her skin would glimmer at times, like the sun kissed surface of water, there one moment and then gone. She noticed it particularly while practicing when her powers were getting a good workout, but there were times when it happened on its own. The Professor and Jean had seen it first hand while she was in a therapy session working on some of the worst points of abuse. Her body, instead of becoming invisible as a response like she used to, gave off a glimmer and then a bright blinding flash.

All in the room had been blinded a few moments from it, and in the days that followed, they tried to make her do it again in a controlled environment they called the Danger Room. She'd been able, under their instruction, to give off a few soft spurts of light, but never again something so brilliant. That was her latest subject of practice. Doing it again.

It was encouraging to see that her hard work was slowly paying off! As the Professor had mentioned during her orientation, her powers were indeed, expanding.

Today she was meandering back to the mansion, coming back from the forest after training herself when her phone went off. She had half expected it to be Remy again, but as she checked the caller ID, she saw it was .

Her one positive distraction, she thought with a smile as she flipped the phone open.

"Hello, Maestro!" She greeted, glad to be hearing his voice! "Tell me your schedule opened up and you're coming to see me soon!"

The reply she got was somber and worrying. "Angel, forgive me but I must deliver some bad news to you. Are you sitting down?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, her thoughts racing frightfully over what news would be so bad he'd ask her to sit. She obeyed quickly, getting down onto the grass before answering, "Okay, I am now. Please, what's wrong?"

There was a tense moment of silence before the news was delivered, and all at once, Olivia felt like the world stopped spinning.

"Olivia, dearest, I'm sorry. Your mother has died."

**x**

His hands were steady as he looked at his profiled reflection in the bathroom mirror, positioning the scissors near his sewn up ear. The scars would fade quickly thanks to how rapidly his body healed, but for now the reminder was crystal clear. Wolverine would not tolerate him touching Olivia. As he tugged on of the wiry thread upwards and clipped away another stitch from his ear, Remy begrudgingly admitted to himself that he simply couldn't fulfill this mission. At least, not on his own terms like he had wanted. Wolverine would kill him before he got the chance.

When this job had been given to him, he hadn't accounted for the fact that someone might have appointed themselves as guardian over her. If Logan hadn't been in the picture, things would be over by now and his involvement in Sinisters strategy would have gone as a secret. At first, there was no real way of even knowing that he'd be needed at all. 'If she ends up there,' he had been instructed, 'if we are unable to find her and possess her on our own and she falls into the lap of the x-men, this is what you are to do.' When Sinister had told him they had indeed found her upstate near Canada, he had thought he was in the clear until Logan answered the professors call and had swung through to pluck her right out from under Sinisters nose. That very day his phone rang again, and dread had filled his being as he was forced to face what he had accomplish.

Get her pregnant. It had literally been that simple, and as the master charmer he'd banked on it being pretty easy. Turn up that charisma of his, overwhelm her with his sexuality, and after he released his seed within her, get her a glass of water with the drug in it that Sinister said would ensure the conception he needed. Then later, he would come and abduct her and do what he wanted with her and the unborn child, leaving Remy by all appearances an innocent who had lost a lover and would be child.

That much simpler plan was impossible now. Olivia wouldn't so much as answer his texts after what had happened with him and Logan. At least, he assumed that was why. He had blown her loverboy up from the inside out and she'd watched him do it. Self defense or not, any girl would cold shoulder him after that. But Logan was seemingly avoiding her too. He attributed that to him getting the same speech that the Professor had given him about propriety with students, but he wasn't convinced. Of course, he probably had the same attitude about that too. It wouldn't stop a man from persuing the girl he wanted. There would just have to be more discretion.

His thoughts immediately turned to Rogue, and his chest gave a pained ache. There was no getting around it now. He had no choice but to hand deliver Olivia to , and after that, he would undoubtedly be ousted from the X-men. She'd hate him, maybe more than she does now, but he had such resolve that it would change nothing for him. He tugged the last stitch in his ear and cut it away, dropping the knot into the garbage. He loved that girl. God in heaven he found her to be utter perfection. He loved her spunk, her will, and that unbending moral code that so often reached out to balance his own.

He dropped the scissors into the drawers and shut it, closing his eyes against the assaulting guilt that churned up in his being. He had no choice but to deliver her. If he did not, his debt to Sinister for giving him the ability to control his powers would go unpaid, and the great secret of who led the Morlock massacre would be thrown into the laps of the Xmen.

He was beginning to wonder which was worse now. Have them know what he was about to do, or protect Olivia and let his past come out.

A whistle chirped from his pocket, and he pulled out his phone, wincing as the injury in his shoulder moved unpleasantly. He frowned. It was exactly the person he didn't want to hear from.

He answered, and the cool and emotionless voice on the other end of the phone turning his stomach. "You have had enough time Gambit. Get the job done or I will send someone who can!"

A jolt of worry moved through him. He knew what that meant, but doing such a thing to a girl who had already been through that sort of trauma was unforgivably wicked! "Non, Remy can deliver her, we just need more time t-"

"You've run out of time!" The voice hissed. "You have until the end of the week!"

The call ended, and Remy bowed his head into his hand.

God help him and God forgive him.

**x**

Life had been so much simpler when he was on the road. He could go where he wanted on a whim, beat up who he wanted, drink all he wanted, and fuck who he wanted and no one could stop him or tell him he couldn't without loosing a body part! Just who the _hell_ did the Professor think he was anyway, telling him he couldn't pursue a student of the school when they were of legal age! On top of it, why'd he have to bring up every damn argument in the book about her being a bad fit for him?

She's too young, she doesn't even know herself yet, she's too naive, he's too old, he's too violent, he's too _damn immortal_! That was the one that got to him the worst. She'd be old and grey before he'd age a day if things got that far, and he'd easily outlive her. He'd been in enough relationships in the past where that had been a worry for him, but when you lived as long as he did you didn't get hung up on those details. You took what made you happy for as long as it was there, damn the consequences! So why were they telling him what he should and should not do with his own life? A better question would be why he was letting them.

It was his life and he had to live it the best he could, not in the past, not in the future, but here in the now, and here in the now was Olivia!

God knows the forced distance he was taking from her wasn't helping things either. You'd think staying away from someone would make the attraction simmer down but it was doing just the opposite. From the start, Olivia had an oddly comforting presence about her, her quiet acceptance of him for who and what he was touching him quicker than anyone else before her. The first memory she had of him was watching as he savagely tore into another living thing like some kind of rabid animal, yet she trusted that animal not to hurt her. She had let him share a bed with her, had cried to him about what had happened to her, sought shelter in his arms, and she had touched his hand and claws curiously without any fear of him hurting her. God even now remembering the kiss she had sweetly put to his split skin made him long hungrily for her. Those claws had shed so much blood over his lifetime, and knowing the violence they were capable of she'd still done it! he didn't feel worthy, but hell if he was about to give it up. That girl soothed him, made him feel like there was a real man left inside him when all his instincts to rut, fight, and kill made him feel like he was nothing but a beast of war. That was what made the distance difficult. He'd come to crave the ease that came over him when she was near.

There was also the fact that sense he had returned her lost bag to her, that she'd resumed using that brown sugar vanilla scent that he had early on associated with her. It was like a child following it's nose to the kitchen for freshly baked cookies, but for him the prize was far more virile in nature. That smell drove him crazy! He'd catch whiffs of it around the mansion and have to force himself to go in the other direction when all he wanted to do was bury his nose in her neck and taste her with his tongue, and cover that fortunately faded mark that Gambit had left on her with one of his own! The gall of that cajun, putting a mark on Olivia to taunt him! It had taken nearly a week to vanish and he'd had to look at it every day! Oh she tried to hide it with her hair but he knew it was there! The time was coming where he wouldn't hold himself back any longer, but he had to remind himself that it'd be worth it in the long run.

He downed another shot of whiskey, enjoying the brief burn it gave him before his healing factor neutralized it. He had to wait. No longer because of Jean and what he had used to feel for her, or because the Professor had very pointedly told him that it was a bad idea, but now because there was too much going on with her to let a relationship between them get in the way. Sinisters unknown reasons for wanting her, her training, school which had just started up, and of course there was the added issue of the all the anger and resentment some of the students had towards her after Gambit and himself had finally torn into each other. He'd barked at them to shut their mouths about it on one occasion, telling them it was none of their god damned business, but all that did was make them not talk around him.

Jubilee was by far the worst offender. That kid had a chip on her shoulder that could of lopped her arm clean off! Hell, he knew the girl was a good kid with a good heart and she was only reacting this way because two men she cared about had gotten hurt over what to her was just some girl, but her feminine cattiness was grinding on his last nerves. She had to get over it, and soon.

He chewed the butt of his cigar as an agitated growl rose up from the bowels of his body. He hadn't spoken to Olivia in a long time. He'd have to do it soon. Sure, he was pissed about what had happened with Gambit, but the fact that it was Gambit spoke for itself. Had it been with anyone else he might've let his feelings get hurt, but over the cajun? There was no way in hell he was going to waste time being jealous of that womanizing bastard! He had absolutely no doubts in his mind that whatever had happened would never have gone the way it had if it hadn't been him. He was just too conniving and slick, and Liv was just too susceptible to his damn tricks. How is it he could see through him to what he was and half the mansion still thought he was just a charming flirt? No way, that gumbo was up to something if only he could figure out what!

Maybe that's why he was being so hard on her now. He wanted her to be stronger, he wanted her to be capable of fighting off shit heads like him. He wanted her to be able to bust some heads if anyone ever tried to hurt her again, but she'd never get there if he didn't push her to her absolute limits. The results were obvious too. She had dropped weight, her body was getting alluringly toned, and if Hank and the Professor were correct then even her powers were growing.

"Hey handsome," a silky voice interrupted his thoughts, "You look like you could use a little feminine company to chase those blues away."  
He bit his cigar so hard that the butt split between his teeth and he had to spit it into the ashtray. He flicked the rest of it into the glass cylinder as well. Great. Another dick hopper. He'd usually be quite willing to bury his turmoil into the silky wet pouch of a woman, but lately, he'd found little satisfaction in it. All his liaisons had no real meaning, that was nothing new, but the utter lack of enthusiasm was. A week ago he had even been unable to cum. His mind and heart would give his body no respite in this regard. It was only longing after one woman now.

"No thanks, darlin." He said dismissively as he pulled out a new cigar, not even looking over to appraise the source of the offer.

"Too bad." The voice said again before the click of heals sounded her retreat.

It was then his phone rang.

He was in no mood for the Professor right now, but his hand went to his jackets pocket anyway, fishing out his much hated phone and smashing the answer key.

"Yeah, what?' he grumped as he ordered another shot.

"Logan, I need your help. It's after dark now and Twilight never returned to her room for the sunset."

He was on his feet even before his mind could process the news, his drinks forgotten as he fished out some bills to pay for it. It wasn't like Olivia to be out past sunset. It was the only time her invisibility still caused her some pain and she hated the lack of control. If it were within her power, she was never out that late.

"Is it Sinister?" He asked instantly, already out the door of the bar and heading for his bike. He dreaded the answer but he had to know.

"I don't think so, Cerebro says she is on the mansion grounds but it cannot pinpoint her exact location. She's missed the beginning of this evenings therapy and she doesn't answer her phone."

Logan felt himself relax marginally. If she was on Mansion property then she wasn't in the hands of Essex.

"I'm on my way, I'll sniff her out." He promised as he thrusted his keys into the bikes ignition. "Five minutes Chuck!"

"Thank you."

**I really want to hear what you guys think! I crave your reviews if you are so kind as to offer them to me! Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, what you think of what's playing out and how you feel! Thank you for everyone for reading!**


End file.
